My Department published the general scheme of the circular economy Bill 2021 on 15 June last. It is my intention under this Bill to facilitate not only the use of CCTV but the use of a broad range of audiovisual recording, AVR, equipment to assist local authorities in their efforts to combat litter and illegal dumping. Drafting of the Bill is well advanced and the final report of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action was published on 16 December last. The Bill will be published in quarter 1 this year and enacted as soon as possible thereafter.

A combination of legislation and guidance will help to ensure that the processing of personal data obtained through the use of CCTV and AVR equipment may be carried out by local authorities tasked with enforcing litter and waste legislation thus providing an important deterrent to protect our environment from the scourge of illegal dumping while, at the same time, respecting the privacy rights of citizens.

I have seen in my constituency, as I am sure is the case in the Deputy's area of Galway city and county, that even where CCTV cameras are available very often the evidence cannot be used and prosecutions cannot be pursued. It is a real problem not just in regard to the issue of waste management but, I imagine, in a wide variety of different policing issues. We have to strike the right balance between the rights to privacy and how data is used, shared or stored. We cannot allow flagrant breaches of public environment, waste management and other rules to continue and a situation where there is no mechanism for local authorities to enforce that. The circular economy Bill presents an opportunity to address that issue. I am confident it will get the support of the Dáil. We will then have to put it into practice.

This is the fourth time in the past two years that I have raised the issue of illegal dumping in the House. It continues to be a major scourge on the landscape and it is particularly a problem in rural areas. Penalties for those caught in the act of illegal dumping are not strict enough. We still have the ridiculous situation whereby a person caught on CCTV in the act of illegal dumping cannot be brought to court. It was recently reported that illegal dumping is costing local authorities up to €90 million per annum. This does not factor in the time and effort of Tidy Towns committees and volunteers working in local communities on clean-ups.

When I raised this issue with the Taoiseach last March, he indicated that in his opinion privacy rights in regard to the CCTV footage of those caught in the act of illegal dumping should not apply and he would request legislation to be drafted to address this. Will the Minister please bring forward that legislation? He mentioned his constituency. The level of illegal dumping along a 1 km stretch of road on the outskirts of Galway city is appalling. This has been going on for the past five years. This has to be dealt with. It is destroying the rural countryside.

I agree. In that regard, the circular economy Bill, which will be published within weeks, will be critical. My understanding is that alongside that it is proposed to implement mandatory codes of practice that will ensure relevant data protection legislation is complied with by any local authority. The combination of legislation, non-statutory guidance and the use of mandatory codes of practice will ensure that the processing of personal data can be carried out by local authorities tasked with enforcing litter and waste law and compliance with GDPR and will address concerns previously raised by the Data Protection Commissioner. That then gives us the opportunity to unlock the enforcement mechanism that we all agree is needed.

On two separate occasions I have asked that a task force, comprising An Garda Síochána, departmental officials and local authorities, be put in place to deal with this issue. Such a task force would need to be given powers, including to use CCTV footage and to seize all vehicles and equipment involved in illegal dumping, with severe penalties imposed for those caught in the act in respect of the release of their vehicles. Once again, I am asking for a commitment that a task force to tackle this problem will be established as a matter of urgency. The only way to adequately tackle this problem is to hit those involved where it hurts. We can do this through the use of CCTV, the seizure of vehicles used for illegal dumping and the imposition of substantial fines in respect of the release of vehicles seized.

That is what we need. An Garda Síochána and the local authorities have been hindered previously for the lack of legislation that provided real clarity on data protection and privacy protection and, at the same time, allowed for enforcement. As I said, the combination of legislation and the codes of practices we propose to introduce will resolve that problem.