Recent studies have shown that Dublin is again a dirty city and Cork as well, for that matter. They have not improved. If anything, they have become worse. We have had less visible plastic. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a guy throw a bottle out of the car. He would only have got 15 cent for it, but could not do anything about it, so it ended up in the ditch. We have a situation where half of all visible litter is cigarette butts. People stamp it on the ground thinking that it is plastic or will biodegrade. I even saw a council worker with a handcart do the same thing. I saw a person at an EV charger do it. Presumably, he bought an EV because he thought he was being eco-friendly, but then he put his butt on the ground. People throw butts beside bins.

In Australia, they have robust campaign called "Don't be a Tosser". In South Dublin County Council, I was not allowed to use the term "butt-tosser". They thought it was a little improper. I was asked whether I could use "cigarette butt disposal" instead when tabling a motion on the clár. When I raise the issue of fines, it is parked and passed over to the local authorities. However, the buck stops with the Government.

I thank the Deputy.

Should we not increase fines to have real consequences for people dropping litter?

We should. We can do that but it is about enforcement and catching people. Fundamentally, it is about behavioural change. Cork is not a dirty city.

According to Irish Business Against Litter, IBAL, it is.

Deputy, please.

The city council and new city administration are working might and main to try to improve the Dublin situation in terms of cleanliness. It has improved significantly. However, the IBAL organisation has done fantastic work in highlighting all of this. Certainly, I would be open to proactive measures to dissuade people from littering. Where they litter away, without any regard for other people, they should be prosecuted and the fine should be significant.