Minister for Environment Denis Naughten is doubling the €650,000 he announced in March to crack down on the growing problem of illegal dumping.
Mr Naughten said over the last few years there had been “slippage” with an increase in illegal dumping because the resources required to tackle the issue were not in place because of the recession.
“Illegal dumping is environmental and ecological treason. It has a huge impact on communities. The funding being used for clean ups could be used elsewhere,” he said.
Mr Naughten said there was no doubt that enforcement has to be part of the solution.
“Now we are ramping up enforcement. We are working to clean up black spots.”
The Minister told Newstalk Breakfast the funding would be used to provide extra monitoring through CCTV, drone technology and public awareness campaigns.
Mr Naughten said the funding would increase to €1.3 million. He said there was a demand in increase the funding after the announcement of the scheme last March.
“We are oversubscribed because of the interest from community groups and local authorities who have identified dumping black spots,” he said.
He said two local authorities – Limerick and Kildare – would be using drones to provide evidence to pursue prosecutions.
Mr Naughten also said that he supported Senator Catherine Ardagh’s proposals to revise dog fouling legislation as it was a “huge” problem.
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