COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN, NEWCASTLE, RATHCOOLE, SAGGART AND BRITTAS AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, May 21, 2025

MOTION NO. 18

MOTION: Councillor E. Ó Broin

That this Area Committee agrees to use all methods at its disposal to address this dumping black spot, with respect to dumping on the Bawnogue Road at Lindisfarne, and as follow up to Motion 6 from the October 2024 LEA, and the 13 reports (attached) of dumping in April 2025 alone.  

REPORT:

Reports of illegal dumping are in the first instance referred to and investigated by the Council’s Litter Warden Service. It is important that sufficient time is allowed for the litter warden investigation to take place, as where evidence is found among the dumped waste items then enforcement action can be pursued under the Litter Pollution Act 1997 as amended. Following the litter warden investigation cases are then referred to the Public Realm Section for the removal of waste.

The Council endeavours to arrange removal of dumped material within 48 hours where possible. This timeframe may not always be achievable however due to factors such as the volume and nature of the waste, site accessibility and the availability of resources or specialised equipment which may be required in some instances. Despite these operational constraints the removal of illegal dumping is prioritised, and every effort is made to ensure timely removal within a 48-hour time period to maintain clean and safe public spaces.

The designated Litter Warden for this area is aware of a number of recent occurrences of illegal dumping at this location. The Litter Warden notes mainly bags of green waste and domestic waste have been dumped here.  It is noted that following the removal of dumped bags, further incidents of dumping has occurred. Residents have engaged with the Litter Warden and have requested the installation of CCTV for this location.

CCTV is appropriate where it is intended for deterring environmental pollution and aiding in the detection and prosecution of offences under the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended and the Litter Pollution Act 1997, as amended. CCTV can only be deployed for specific operational tasks in specific designated locations and not used for general patrol/ surveillance, i.e. a camera can only be focused on a discrete location and not a broad general area and automated number plate recognition and facial recognition devices are explicitly excluded.

To justify the necessity of implementing a CCTV Scheme for environmental enforcement issues at a specific location, and in accordance with the LGMA's codes of practice for the Operation of CCTV for the purposes of Prevention, Detection and Prosecution of Waste Offences and Litter Offences, SDCC have to prove the necessity based on:

Before proposing a CCTV scheme, SDCC has to demonstrate, in accordance with the codes of practice, that less intrusive measures have been considered.

South Dublin has a listing of sites across the county in which less intrusive measures are being deployed and it is only where these less intrusive measures fail that a business case for the deployment of a CCTV scheme may be prepared for recommendation by the CCTV oversight board to the Chief Executive for authorisation. We currently have 4 business cases prepared for the oversight board.

There has already been an increase in Litter Patrols in the area, most recent inspection was last week with material removed.  

Since the previous Motion in October 2024, South Dublin County Council has responded to the following relevant complaints received through the Environmental Complaint System within the wider Bawnogue area.

November 2024 – Present

Area

Reports Received

Fines Issued

Lindisfarne

6 reports of illegal dumping

1 fine issued

Deansrath Park

1 report of illegal dumping

No evidence uncovered

Deansrath Road

2 reports of illegal dumping

1 fine issued

Bawnogue Road

6 reports of illegal dumping

No evidence uncovered