'Ridiculous' GDPR CCTV restrictions contributing to dumping plague

GDPR rules is causing a 'ridiculous' situation that is preventing Laois and other county counciles from using cameras to catch dumpers, according to Laois Offaly Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley.

The TD said he has been raising the issue of illegal dumping with the Minister for Environment Eamon Ryan and also with Secretary General of his Department.

"The recent GDPR regulations preventing councils from using CCTV cameras to collect information on illegal dumping is causing huge frustration across the Constituency and especially in rural areas.’’

“We currently have the ridiculous situation where county councils are prevented from collecting the evidence required to successfully prosecute those who are involved in this illegal activity. Up to last year, they were able to use CCTV but the Data Protection Commissioner has deemed this to possibly be a breach of GDPR rules.

"Community groups in both rural and urban areas find themselves in a position where they are cleaning up waste, only to find that within a few weeks their locality is back to square one. Without their efforts and the work of local councils, some parts of the countryside would resemble a dump.

"I have been raising this with the Department of Environment and with Minister Ryan since the problem with GDPR started to arise last year. I have also been requesting that the fines would be increased on those who engage in this activity.

"I am now promised that new legislation is being brought forward to put laws in place which will enable councils to erect cameras wherever they may be needed to prevent dumping. The Department is also reviewing the level of fines and I believe these need to be increased substantially.

"CCTV evidence is essential for successful prosecutions and we cannot continue to have a situation where the hands of the local authorities are tied in this way," said the TD.

The Department told Deputy Stanley that the Government’s recently published “Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy’’, contains a commitment to ensure that all waste enforcement legislation will be “data proofed’’ so that all available and emerging technologies can be fully utilised for enforcement activities in a manner which is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) complaint.

Minister Ryan said his Department is currently working on a Circular Economy Bill which will include provisions to give effect to the commitment in the Waste Action Plan.

"This will help to ensure that the processing of personal data could be carried out by local authorities, in order to protect our environment from the scourge of illegal dumping, while at the same time respecting the privacy rights of citizens," he said.

The Laois TD was also told that other commitments in the Waste Action Plan to target illegal dumpers include:

• The development of an illegal dumping sites action plan:
• The introduction of further Fixed Penalty Notices:
• The development of an anti-dumping toolkit to assist local authorities in targeting illegal dumpers: and
• The further roll-out of the National anti-dumping Initiative.
• The upcoming Circular Economy Bill may also consider further changes to Fixed Penalty Notices.