Local authorities should be able to use CCTV in order to tackle illegal dumping without the risk of data protection concerns, says a Clondalkin Labour representative.
Chris O’Dwyer has voiced his support for Senator Mark Wall’s campaign which calls for the relevant law to be amended so county councils can use CCTV without the threat of prosecution.
“Illegal dumping is a scourge throughout the country, last year the majority of the queries I dealt with were in relation to continuing incidents of illegal dumping across North Clondalkin, Bawnoge, Rathcoole and Saggart, this is causing untold damage to our environment and eating into the budgets of local authorities,” said O’Dwyer.
“There are many community groups who continue to volunteer to protect their local area by cleaning up illegally dumped waste – such as the members of Clondalkin Tidy Town.
“Illegal dumping can potentially cause severe problems for those in the more rural areas of the area, such as Brittas, and parts of Saggart and Newcastle, including preventing flood waters from draining effectively, and local authorities must be empowered to address this,” he said.
O’Dwyer said that the CCTV is usually an “effective deterrent” to illegal dumping but its use in this manner is being questioned by some.
“It would seem that question marks are being raised around the use of CCTV by our local authorities due to data protection concerns.
“The Labour Party has asked the Minister to investigate this, and our Senator Mark Wall has also prepared a new draft law that would address these concerns around data protection and GPDR.
“Councils have to be authorised by law to allow the processing of personal data such as the gathering and using of images of identifiable individuals by CCTV to use as evidence in the prosecution of dumping cases,” he says.
O’Dwyer says that illegal dumping is becoming a growing problem for some county council’s and the issue needs to be solved
“The reality is, being able to identify the culprits through the use of CCTV is a deterrent to this behaviour.
“Some local authorities are now reporting 40 to 50 incidents of illegal dumping each week, many of these are at locations which have just recently been cleaned at a cost to us all.
“Cleaning up illegal dumping is costings councils millions that could instead be invested in public services and amenities like our parks.”
O’Dwyer says that “a balance between privacy and the common good must be struck.”
“Illegal dumping is a serious issue and a blight on our countryside.
“Senator Mark Wall and I will be hosting an online public meeting to discuss the issue of illegal dumping in Clondalkin-Rathcoole and I will be introducing a further remedy to combat illegal dumping in the area.”