Michael McCarthy (Labour)

Please forgive my ignorance, but the best of luck to anyone with a once-off rural house in northern or southern Cyprus.

It is true, as Senator Norris said, that we all talk about the environment. We all care about it and it is very important that we inspire to initiate debates on various environmental issues. It is healthy to revisit such good initiatives as Senator Bacik's Climate Change Bill.

I mention an initiative run in conjunction with An Taisce, as critical as I have been of it during the years, the green flag initiative. I had the honour of attending my local primary school last Friday and hoisting its second green flag in a two year period. Earlier this week I attended Scoil Bhride in Ballydehob which has hoisted its third green flag. It is wonderful to see such good environmental practice and a sense of duty and interest among local communities. It is also good to instill a sense of active citizenship in young people and bring them into the decision making process from a very early age.

I examined the literature and documentation in St. Mary's primary school in Dunmanway last Friday and it was wonderful to see the seven steps listed and the manner in which they were carried out diligently without fault or failure. It is a wonderful scheme which educates a whole new generation and ensures, as Senator Ellis said, that we will leave this planet in as good a state, if not better, than we found it because we are only temporary custodians. We should always be cognisant of the fact that there will be future generations, to whom we have a sense of duty. If there ever was an international event to frighten or remind us of our sense of duty, it is the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. It is truly appalling to see millions of tonnes of oil spewing out into the gulf, wiping out marine wildlife and severely damaging what has been a good and vibrant seafood sector. I do not think the $20 billion BP has pledged to provide will ease the damage in the short term. It is shameful to see such a development in the third millennium. Despite the wealth and technology of advanced nations, we are absolutely powerless. One imagines from the pictures on the television that it would be easy to address the problem but, unfortunately, that is far from the case.

I wish to focus on the aspect of the motion that pertains to Haulbowline. Senator Boyle and others will acknowledge the cross-party support that exists around the harbour for a baseline health study. In July 2008 the Minister, Deputy Gormley, visited the area with Senator Boyle and he appears to have taken on board the concerns raised by residents because he stated in the Dáil afterwards:

Yesterday I spoke to the residents about the idea of a baseline health study and, indeed, it has been suggested by my colleague, Senator Dan Boyle, for quite some time...I do not profess to have great knowledge in this area. Certainly, a baseline study is to be recommended and I will go to Cabinet with that.

The National Cancer Registry indicates that the incidence of cancer in the area is 37% higher than the national average. A baseline health study is needed to rule out the possibility of a connection between the thousands of tonnes of toxic waste dumped on the former Irish Steel site and the area's cancer rate. In the light of the discovery by a German company that the waste included chromium(VI), such a study is essential. Unfortunately, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, refuses to make a decision on the matter. We should revisit the commitment that the Minister, Deputy Gormley, gave in good faith and take account of the political consensus in the area which demands a baseline study to give people a sense of the issue and to rule out the possibility that toxic waste is causing cancer. We are entitled to that study.

A Minister gave a commitment in good faith only for another Minister to make a contrary decision. The Minister, Deputy Harney, must have received advice on the issue and if this advice led to her conclusion, elected representatives are entitled to have it made available to us. I appeal to my Government colleagues to subscribe to the political consensus by asking her to reveal whether she received environmental and scientific advice and whether it took cognisance of the National Cancer Registry figures for the area. Did her advisers share the opinion of the German company regarding chromium(VI)? If we are to allay the fears of the people of the area, it is essential we ask her to publish her advice.

I thank speakers for their contributions, irrespective of the side that they argued. This debate was a healthy use of Private Members' time.