Public must be informed of any law change on use of technology to catch litter louts - Cllr

A clear explanation to the public is needed regarding legislative changes that would allow use of CCTV and other technology as evidence in littering prosecutions.

That is according to Cllr Noel Jordan (SF), who raised the matter at the February meeting of the Municipal District (MD) of Donegal.

Cllr Jordan was referring in particular to a Bill that would ensure that local authorities including Donegal County Council could legally use such evidence. 

Earlier this year, the government said it would not oppose a Bill which would legislate for littering prosecutions where CCTV is a source of evidence. 

CCTV had previously been used at bottle banks and other littering blackspots for the purpose of identifying perpetrators of illegal dumping. However, General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) introduced in 2018 meant Donegal County Council and other local authorities were hampered when it came to using CCTV footage as evidence. 

This led to much frustration among Donegal councillors and the council staff who have to deal with illegal dumping on an ongoing basis.
If passed, the Local Government (Surveillance Powers in Relation to Certain Offences) Bill 2022 - which is being brought on a cross party basis - will “empower local authorities to authorise the installation and operation of surveillance devices for the purposes of deterring, preventing, detecting and prosecuting certain offences, to provide for exchange of certain data from third party data controllers to local authorities for the purposes of the performance of their functions in relation to such offences, to make certain provision for the purposes of regulating the performance of functions under this Act and to provide for related matters.”

In simpler terms, this means that Donegal County Council could use technology such as CCTV, registration plate detection, drones and footage from other sources as evidence. 

Cllr Jordan, who has been very proactive in highlighting and tackling illegal dumpling, asked at the February MD meeting: “Is there any update on data protection and use of cameras? On taking away that part of data protection so people could be prosecuted on the spot on camera evidence?”

Suzanne Bogan from Donegal County Council’s Environment section said that she had not received any official communication on the matter. She assured Cllr Jordan that she would follow it up.

Cllr Jordan said it was important to get a clear message out to the public about any changes.

“What I am trying to get across here is that we need to make people more aware by advertising regularly in our papers, making sure we are getting it out there some way,” he said. 

The Bill was debated in Seanad Eireann in late January. Members heard that nationally, dealing with littering and illegal dumping costs local authorities between €90 million and €100 million annually. 

A spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications confirmed to the Donegal Post that changes are on the way, saying: “The Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications is responsible for waste matters. 

“The issue of the use of CCTV and other AVR equipment in the fight against illegal dumping is to be addressed as part of that Department’s Circular Economy, which is currently being drafted. 

“The drafting process is almost complete and the Department expects to seek Government approval to publish the Bill before the end of this month. The Bill is expected to be prioritised and will be passed well before the end of the year.”