Countdown to turn on CCTV cameras to catch dumpers in action
A date has been given by Laois County Council for when they hope to turn back on their CCTV cameras and drones to catch illegal dumpers in the act.
The big switch on is hoped to take place by March, 2024 according to Director of Services Simon Walton.
It is over three years since the council as with other Irish counties, was forced to put their crimefighting cameras into storage after the Data Commissioner stated in 2020 that they required a new law.
Since then dumping levels soared in Laois, with a massive 642 tonnes of illegally dumped waste collected from the countryside in the first half of 2022, compared to 367 tonnes for the whole year of 2019.
Speaking at Laois County Council's October meeting, Mr Walton said a Code of Practice is now before the Minister for the Environment for approval, and is expected to be signed in the next four weeks.
"In the first quarter of 2024 it will be made available to local authorities and we will have to comply. Our intention at that stage is to redeploy our CCTV that we currently can't bring to bear," Mr Walton said.
This year the amount of dumped waste collected up has dropped. By September the council had cleaned 262 tonnes from the countryside.
It may have been helped by anti-dumping days held this year by the council. Bulky waste like mattresses, bed bases, couches chairs and tables were taken free of charge at events in Portlaoise, Mountmellick and Portarlington and selected housing estates in Portlaoise, Graiguecullen, Portarlington, Borris-in-Ossory and Mountmellick. A total of 1,150 mattresses and 194.5 tonnes of big items were gathered up, according to new figures from the council's environment section.
This year so far, the council has issued 57 litter fines. There were 817 public environment complaints made to them, mainly around waste and litter.
The Codes of Practice will set out the standards for using CCTV against illegal dumping. They had to be written by the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA).
That had required consultation with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Minister for Justice and the Data Protection Commission. Separate Codes of Practice are required for the operation of CCTV schemes under both the Litter Pollution Act and the Waste Management Act, while a further Code of Practice is required for the use of "mobile recording devices" under the Waste Management Act. Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) also had to be carried out.