Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I agree with everything Senator O'Toole said and welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the reply to the motion of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley. I do not believe he said there was no consensus on the matter; there is. We are all singing from the same hymn sheet, but we have different ways of going about things and want measures to be introduced quicker. I do not agree that Senator Hannigan is a hypocrite. He is a man I highly respect. Perhaps some of us should be members of Actors' Equity.

Tackling environmental issues is a priority for Fianna Fáil in government. It is committed to implementing an ambitious environmental programme, which includes protecting and preserving our water resources, tackling climate change and continued improvements in waste management policy.

The environment budget is €2.3 billion in 2010. One of the key measures is the introduction of a new carbon levy which will yield in the region of €250 million this year and €330 million in a full year. Its introduction is a landmark step in integrating climate change mesures with the annual fiscal budgetary process. Some €90 million will be spent on retrofitting, of which €36 million will ring-fenced for households experiencing energy poverty. This is double the amount allocated in 2009.

The Government has published a new transport policy, Smarter Travel - A Sustainable Transport Future, and a great deal has been achieved to date. I compliment Dublin City Council on the introduction of its bicycle scheme under which its bicycles are being widely used. The scheme has been effective in getting people to move from the car to public transport, as is evident on the streets of Dublin city in the morning.

The Minister has circulated a draft framework for the climate change Bill 2010 which outlines the key provisions on which detailed heads will be based. Work on their drafting is at an advanced stage. The Minister has said he expects, following Government consideration of the Bill, to be in a position to publish it shortly.

The Labour Party has called on the Government to implement measures to protect the quality of our rivers, public beaches and water supply. Last week An Taisce published details of the 2010 list of international standard clean beaches. It found that six Irish beaches had lost their blue flag status, while five others had regained theirs. Some 76 Irish beaches and marinas have been awarded blue flag status for this summer season compared to 77 last year. A total of 80 were awarded this status in 2008. While the overall results in regard to water quality were disappointing because of heavy rainfall and so on, I am confident that the actions taken by the Government to tackle water quality will lead to an increase in the number of beaches being awarded blue flag status in the coming years.

The Government is committed to tackling water quality issues in the water services investment programme 2010 to 2012 which will see €1.8 billion invested in some 340 contracts. The new programme will provide for the provision of crucial infrastructure in the next three years, a greater focus on water conservation measures and river basis management planning. The continuing high level of the Exchequer allocation - €508 million this year alone - is a clear statement of the priority the Government attaches to preserving and protecting our water resources to meet EU standards for drinking water and wastewater treatment. The programme, therefore, provides for an investment of €320 million in repairing leaking networks, a doubling of expenditure in this regard in the past seven years. This will help to eliminate waste and protect water basins. It is important that households moderate their use of this increasingly expensive and critically important resource which we sometimes take for granted.

The role of the metering programme leading to water charges will contribute to more sustainable levels in water consumption. Following the phased installation of water meters, households will be charged for water based on their usage in 2012. It is interesting to note that the Labour Party has tabled this Private Members' motion calling on the Government to implement measures to protect the environment, in particular the quality of water, but it has failed to state where it stands on the important issue of water charges. As Senator O'Toole rightly pointed out, it costs money to provide water and have a good quality water supply. The Labour Party has refused to show leadership on the issue which forms a key part of the Government's plan for investment in the supply of water in the next three years. When Deputy Gilmore was recently asked the party's policy on water charges in an interview on Newstalk's "Breakfast" show, he made it clear that the Labour Party still had no position on the matter. He said, as reported in an article in The Irish Times on 19 May 2010, "Well, that is something we're looking at at the moment. We have to look at what the European rules are on it. We have to look at the cost of metering." Senator Boyle made the same point. Parties have to let the people know where they stand on the issue. It is easy to say they want better water quality, but the money must come from somewhere.

Following publication of the new water services investment programme, the Labour Party's environment spokesperson, Deputy Tuffy, in typical populist fashion, came out immediately to criticise the substantial investment in water services. It is not good enough for the Labour Party to criticise every policy measure taken by the Government and then fail to bring forward its alternative proposal or state clearly its stance on such an important matter. The Government is taking measures to protect the environment. It is about time the Labour Party indicated the measures it would take to improve our water services, but it has failed to do so to date.

Some improvements in water quality have been made. The Environmental Protection Agency's report on urban wastewater discharges in 2006 and 2007 was published in 2009. On compliance with the requirement of the EU urban water treatment directive relating to secondary water treatment facilities, there is now a 92% compliance rate compared with a figure of 25% in 2002.

A further point I wish to make relates to encouraging people to grow their own vegetables. There is a huge waiting list for allotments in Dublin City Council. Huge land banks around the city and in other parts of the country are lying idle. I ask the Minister to take this into account and try to acquire some of this land to meet the needs of the large number of people on the waiting list. There are 3,000 on the waiting list for allotments in St. Anne's Park, but there are only 120 allotments available. I ask the Minister to take this point on board.