115. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to list each project funded or operated by his Department since 2015 in which members of the public participated directly in structured litter monitoring or scientific knowledge production (details supplied); the operator, expenditure, participant number, resulting dataset or research output and publication location, in tabular form; if there were no such projects, to confirm that position; if the Department cannot determine whether such projects existed, the records and bodies consulted in preparing previous replies and to confirm that position; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60689/26]

The National Litter Pollution Monitoring System (NLPMS) was developed to enable local authorities to monitor and manage litter pollution. The system operates through local authority personnel conducting litter surveys within their functional areas, as such the system is not designed to allow for direct public participation in its litter monitoring. Further information is available at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-climate-energy-and-the-environment/publications/national-litter-pollution-monitoring-system/.

I am not aware of any project funded or operated by the Department since 2015 in which members of the public participated directly in structured litter monitoring or scientific knowledge production.