COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE-TERENURE AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

QUESTION No. 10

QUESTION: Councillor D. O'Donovan

"To ask the Chief Executive if there has been an increase in incidents of illegal dumping within the RTT area over the past three months and what steps SDCC are taking to deal with this growing problem?"

REPLY:

"The following sets out comparative details for 2015 and 2016. 

1/6/2015 to 31/8/2015 - 20 incidents

1/6/2016 to 31/8/2016- 28 incidents

The Council is fully committed to tackling individuals or groups who are engaged in illegal dumping.

All reports of litter and illegal dumping are recorded on the Environmental Complaints System, where they are tracked from original complaint, through investigation to enforcement and all incidents of illegal dumping received are searched for evidence and appropriate enforcement action taken, where possible. 

The Council's Litter Management Plan committed to addressing the negative impact of litter and illegal dumping throughout the county and additional financial provision was made in 2016 for surveillance mechanisms.  

It was agreed to deploy innovative and emerging technology, including CCTV  to tackle the problem of illegal dumping and fly tipping, and such devises have already been installed at various locations across the county, including in this area, on a rolling programme to tackle Litter/Illegal Dumping, Dog Fouling & Graffiti.

In managing this service, the Council is mindful of resources available and all requests/consideration for the installation of such devises are assessed on a case by case basis.

There has been an increased targeted focus on known litter generator areas, with raised visibility of our Warden Service with branded vehicles, and a number of structured routes have been identified for continuous patrol, as well as ad hoc patrols and investigations as required. 

Response times to dealing with requests for clean-up following illegal dumping incidents is currently under review.

It is proving extremely difficult to obtain evidence in relation to the identity of offenders, and we continue to encourage residents and the public at large to support the Council in efforts to identify alleged polluters and to provide the necessary information to allow appropriate enforcement action to be taken. In the absence of clear and substantive evidence, or witness statements and the presence of such witnesses in Court, it will not be possible to bring successful prosecutions."