The use of CCTV and drones to combat illegal dumping should be appropriate and tightly regulated.
That’s according to the Irish Council of Civil Liberties on efforts to allow local authorities use the surveillance technology.
A number of county councils have been reprimanded for using CCTV to detect and deter illegal dumpers.
In 2016, Dublin city council was pulled up for erecting a poster of stills of people dumping their waste in the inner city.
Fianna Fáil Senator Mary Fitzpatrick hopes a new bill will allow local authorities to use drones, CCTV and automatic number plate recognition technology to tackle the problem.
Litter and dumping is estimated to cost local authorities around €1m a year - but concern’s been raised about the impact surveillance technology could have on people’s rights.
Liam Herrick from the Irish Council of Civil Liberties, says data protection laws are not just red tape.
The bill is to be brought forward in the Seanad tomorrow.
Reporting by Emma Tyrrell
