Laois TD claims inaction by Environment Minister preventing CCTV at illegal dumping site

A Laois TD has claimed inaction by the Environment Minister is delaying the rollout of CCTV cameras at illegal dumping sites.   

Deputy Brian Stanley asked that the Laois Joint Policing Committee write to Minister and ask him to take action on the issue. 

Speaking at the latest Laois Joint Policing Committee meeting, Deputy Stanley said Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan has  the power to bring in secondary legislation permitting local authorities to use CCTV at known illegal dumping sites. 

“It is part of the circular economy provisions Bill 2022. It has gone through the Oireachtas, both the Dail and the Senead. It has been signed by the President, it is actually signed by the President since last July,” Deputy Stanley told the meeting.  

“Section 2 of the Act grants the Minister for the Environment, Planning and Communications the power to bring certain provisions into operation by use of secondary legislation. It is in the Minister’s hands to do this,” he said. 

“I would suggest that this committee write to Mr Ryan and say, for god’s sake, it is basically a statutory instrument he has to bring into being and send circulars down here to the local authorities. That’s what he has to do, him and his officials,” Deputy Stanley added. 

He now intends to raise the issue in the Dail and he said that the public and elected representatives are all eager to have CCTV cameras installed at known illegal dumping locations. 

“The power is there since the 22nd of July last year, it needs to be sorted. We need to get these cameras up and running in spots in the county where there is illegal dumping,” said Deputy Stanley. 

Cllr Aisling Moran seconded Deputy Stanley’s suggestion that the Joint Policing Committee should write to Minister Ryan and asked him to take action to enable councils to erect CCTV cameras in illegal dumping locations. 

In response to a query from the Leinster Express/Laois Live, a spokesperson from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said work was ongoing in relation to the use of CCTV to combat illegal dumping. 

Community CCTV Schemes 'nearly designed not to work' Laois TD tells meeting

“The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is currently working on the preparation of the Statutory Codes of Practice in relation to the use of CCTV and other Recording Devices. On completion the draft Code will be submitted to the Minister for consideration and approval,” the spokesperson explained. 

“The Act explicitly prevents, in section 20(2), the powers related to the use of CCTV being brought into force until such time as the statutory code of practice is submitted to and approved by the Minister. The role of the code of practice is to ensure that, at the operational level, the use of CCTV for waste enforcement purposes is fully in line with relevant privacy and data protection requirements,” they explained. 

“Section 22 places the obligation to prepare and submit the draft code on the LGMA. Following the approval of the code, the approval and deployment of individual CCTV schemes is a matter for local authority management, and the Minister has no role in this operational approval,” the spokesperson said. 

“The deployment and use of CCTV will be a matter for individual Local Authorities, on receipt of Ministerial approval,” the spokesperson added.