Gormley Announces An Increase In Littering Fines From September

The on-the-spot litter fine will be raised from €125 to €150 in September in order to try and alleviate a growing litter problem in Ireland.

The increase came despite the publication of the 2006 Litter Pollution Monitoring System report which showed that there was an 0.7% increase in litter free areas last year, from 6.1% in 2005 to 6.8% in 2006;

According to the new figures, 53.6% of all areas surveyed were only slightly littered, though 0.6% of areas were reported to have been 'grossly littered'.

The report also highlighted cigarette-related litter (56%), food-related litter (26%), packaging litter (13%), and paper litter (3%) as the main constituents of litter nationally, with chewing gum (25.18%) as the single-largest litter component in the food related litter category; 

There has also been a significant decrease in gathering points as a source of litter from 12.7% in 2005 to 7.3% in 2006.

Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government welcomed the publication of the report saying that it, "shows improvements in cleanliness levels generally and, taken together with the pattern in recent years, points to a gradual but steady reduction in litter levels across the country. 

"This is good news and is very welcome.  But Ireland still has a significant litter problem and there is no room for complacency. 

"It is clearly in everybody's interest to eliminate the degradation to our surroundings caused by litter pollution.  While awareness raising and education initiatives are vitally important, I believe that the on-the-spot fine for leaving or throwing litter in a public place should serve to deter people from littering.  

"By increasing the litter fine to €150, I am sending out a clear message that society is not prepared to tolerate litter pollution. 

"Generally people are more aware of their environment and are increasingly prepared to make a personal effort to look after it. 

"We must change the behaviour of the few who do not dispose of their litter in a responsible way and I hope by increasing the litter fine to €150 it will make people think before littering" he concluded.