A district court judge yesterday said litter wardens would have to retrieve cigarette butts thrown from cars if they wanted to secure convictions for littering.
Judge Terence Finn said while this might create difficulties, it was a necessary part of a successful prosecution that the offending object be brought into court.
He was speaking in Dublin District Court after throwing out three summonses after the cigarette butts were seen coming from cars on to the public streets last year.
A solicitor for Dublin City Council, which took the cases, said in the past it had been accepted by the court that it was enough for a litter warden to observe the offence of littering, whether it was a cigarette butt or something larger.
Judge Finn said it was necessary for the city council to have its proofs in order, given that there was a penal sanction including a fine of up to €1,900.
He dismissed or struck out all three cases.