Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway County Council continues to be unable to use images from electronic equipment to bring prosecutions against people who are dumping litter illegally.
County CEO, Kevin Kelly said at yesterday's Council meeting that they were specifically ordered not to do so by the Data Protection Commissioner.
Tuam Councillor, Colm Keaveney described those involved in illegal dumping as 'strategic criminals'.
Councillor Keaveney said that illegal dumping was costing the County Council and the public of County Galway considerable sums of money as a result of the time and expense involved in clean-ups.
He said it was a pity that electronic data and images from monitoring cameras could not be used in bringing prosecutions against offenders.
Colm Keaveney said it was his information that other County Councils were able to bring Court proceedings based on electronic and camera evidence.
Describing habitual dumpers as strategic criminals, Councillor Colm Keaveney said that the general public want to see those people prosecuted.
County CEO Keven Kelly said that Galway County Council was one of the bodies audited by the Data Protection Commission which resulted in an order that the electronic data should not be used.
However, he said, many other Counties and local authorities had not received a similar order and they continued to use the images as evidence.
