COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, October 17, 2016

QUESTION NO.14

QUESTION: Councillor C. O'Connor

To ask the Chief Executive to outline the procedures in respect of dealing with reports of abandoned vehicles in Estates and in reporting will he give details of the number of such reports received by the Council so far in this calendar year.

REPLY:

Abandoned vehicles are a major blight on the environment and cause considerable concern to the public.

Relevant Legislation includes:

Section 71 of the Waste Management Act, 1996, as amended, states that a vehicle must not be abandoned on any land and that both a person who abandons a vehicle and the registered owner shall be guilty of an offence.

It further describes "abandoned" as follows:  “abandoned”, in relation to a vehicle, includes left in such circumstances or for such period that it is reasonable to assume that the vehicle has been abandoned, and cognate words shall be construed accordingly

The Road Traffic (Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations, 1983 specify that a vehicle which has been abandoned on a public road or in a car park may be removed by or on the authority of a road authority, and that where an officer or an Inspector of the Garda Síochána requests a road authority to remove an abandoned vehicle, the road authority shall comply with such request.  

A road authority may take such steps, including the making of an arrangement with any person, as they think fit, for the removal of an abandoned vehicle in a particular case or generally, and for the storage of a vehicle so removed.

Section 2 of the The Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended describes as follows 'litter means a substance or object, whether or not intended as waste (other than waste within the meaning of waste under the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, which is properly consigned for disposal) that, when deposited in a place other than a litter receptable or other place lawfully designated for the deposit, is or is likely to become unsightly, deleterous, nauseous or unsanitary, whether by itself or with any other such substance or object, and regardless of its size or volume or the extent of the deposit'

The matter of dealing with abandoned vehicles is an extremely complex one, therefore each case is dealt with on a case by case basis, in many cases in conjunction with the Garda Síochana under the relevant sections of the legislation referred to above.

Complaints relating to abandoned vehicles usually comprise the following:

On receipt of a complaint the Council must determine if vehicles are in fact abandoned. The following characteristics are generally common to abandoned vehicles, and one or more will be taken into consideration by the Warden Service when determining if a vehicle is abandoned:

Photographs are obtained of the vehicle to record its location and condition.

It should be noted that certain complaints of "abandoned" cars are solely traffic matters and these are referred directly to the Gardai.  Similarly, other reports relate solely to nuisance vehicles are not in fact abandoned, such as:

The inspection of the abandoned vehicle by the Council's Warden Service informs the procedure to be applied by the Council for the removal of the vehicle. 

As referred to above, the Council utilize the provisions of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, and the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended and Road Traffic (Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations, 1983.  

In the case where registration plates are in evident, an ownership check to ascertain the registered owner of the vehicle is requested from the Motor Tax office. (The registered owner has the meaning assigned to it by the Road Traffic Act 1961).  On receipt of same, a letter issues to the registered owner advising of the complaint regarding their vehicle and asking them of their intentions of the vehicle. 

If the vehicle remains in place and is considered to constitute 'litter', within the meaning of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, the Council may issue a Notice pursuant to Section 3 and / or 9 of the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, requiring the removal of the vehicle.  If this Notice is not complied with, within the timeframe specified in the Notice, the Council will arrange its removal under the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended, to an authorised treatment facility (ATF).

Where no registration plates are evident  and the Council pursued all reasonable steps to identify the registered owner of a vehicle, the vehicle shall, pursuant to Section 71 (7)(c) of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, become the property of the Council and the Council, can, in good faith, arrange for its removal to an authorised treatment facility.

South Dublin County Council receives complaints on a regular basis regarding abandoned vehicles.   The following is an outline of the complaints received since 2014 

This report is listed for considered in depth at the Environment Public Realm & Climate Change SPC meeting scheduled for Tuesday 1st November 2016.

The issue appears to be nationwide and is also being considered at regional level by WERLA.