Michael McCarthy (Labour)

My understanding is that would be the case, but it may not be enforced.

To pursue successfully the spirit of any legislation which endeavours to clean up the country, local authorities should have adequate resources to enforce it when it is enacted. They should have the resources and the personnel in place to ensure that these regulations and rules are enforced because it would not be worthwhile for us to go this far only to discover that we do not have the resources to police or enforce it. We should put the horse before the cart in that respect and ensure that all local authorities have adequate resources.

Waste collection is a contentious and divisive issue. I believe in the polluter pays principle because it can deliver dividends and it works well. However, I do not believe that Joe or Mary Soap should have to fund the implementation of the benchmarking report. I have referred to this already but there is a serious anomaly here. The Minister is confusing the issues of waste management and protection of the environment with benchmarking. I presume commands on this issue are coming from the Minister for Finance. Why will that Minister not fund benchmarking for local authorities? Why not allocate money to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government for that purpose?