Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 June 2025
207. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment whether local authorities have the legal authority to request proof of lawful waste disposal by residents in the form of receipts or bank statements, particularly in cases where there is no evidence of public or private bin service usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33242/25]
View answerSection 35 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended, allows for local authorities to make bye-laws governing the segregation, storage and presentation of household and commercial waste “for the purpose of the proper management of waste or the prevention or control of environmental pollution”. This Section further allows local authorities to specify the type of documentary evidence required from those households without a kerbside collection service to demonstrate how they dispose of their waste within any such bye-laws.
All local authorities have introduced waste segregation, storage and presentation bye-laws, based on a standard template prepared by the Regional Waste Management Planning Offices. For example South Dublin County Council introduced the following bye-law in 2018 household-and-commercial-waste-bye-laws-2018.pdf (www.sdcc.ie/en/services/environment/environment-bye-laws/household-and-commercial-waste-bye-laws-2018.pdf). The enforcement of such bye-laws is a matter for the individual local authorities concerned.
