Irish Minister Tony Killeen has said the government is committed to tackling environmental crimes such as litter and graffiti.

His comments followed the allocation of €34k in grants to Clare County Council for public education and awareness initiatives in relation to both litter and graffiti.

Mr Kileen said: "This allocation represents a 33% increase on the figure allocated to County Clare in July 2007.

"Under the Litter Pollution Acts, local authorities have, in addition to litter functions, a responsibility to prevent and take remedial action in relation to graffiti."

"The criteria for selection of suitable projects under this scheme have been expanded in 2008 to include anti-graffiti awareness initiatives, in order to support local authorities in their work in this area," said the minister.

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"Clare County Council and the Town Councils in Kilkee, Kilrush, Ennis and Shannon have taken great strides to progressively combat litter pollution, but much still remains to be done."

"Therefore, I would encourage Clare Local Authorities and communities across the county to continue to work together to clean up their localities," he added.

Minister Killeen urged Clare Local Authorities to continue to take all practical steps to raise public awareness of the environmental damage caused by litter pollution and educate the public about their responsibilities to prevent and control litter.

Minister Killeen said: "I have no doubt that the €34k anti-litter grant allocated to Clare County Council will enable it to engage in a wide range of activities aimed at stimulating greater public involvement and encouraging a more responsible attitude towards litter."

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has allocated over €7.5 million to local authorities for anti-litter awareness initiatives since the Litter Pollution Act was introduced in 1997.

(PR/JM)