Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 December 2025
140. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the supports being made available to Cork County Council and other agencies in Cork to tackle illegal dumping in rural communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [71900/25]
View answerUnder the Waste Management Act, the primary responsibility for management and enforcement responses to illegal dumping lies with local authorities. It is a matter for each local authority to determine the most appropriate awareness, enforcement, and clean-up actions in relation to illegal dumping, taking account of local circumstances.
However, my Department continues to provide significant support to the local authority sector in their efforts to deal with incidences of illegal dumping. Over €23m has been provided to the sector under the Anti-Dumping Initiative (ADI) since it was introduced in 2017 to encourage a collaborative approach between local authorities, community groups and other State Agencies to tackling the problem. €3m was allocated in support of the ADI in 2025, of which Cork County Council received €26,090.
Full details of the amounts provided to individual local authorities by the Department under the ADI for each of the years 2017 - 2024 (2025 data will be added early in 2026), including details of the specific projects supported by county are available on the gov.ie website.
To maintain a visible presence of waste enforcement personnel on the ground across the State, the Department also continues to invest in the local authority waste enforcement network through the Waste Enforcement Measures Grant Scheme. €7.7m was allocated to this scheme in 2025, with Cork County Council receiving €460,023. Cork County Council also received over €1.2m in funding from the Department in 2025 to support its role as the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority for the Southern Region.
