Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We are here to debate important legislation. I welcome the Minister to the House on his first ministerial outing and wish him the very best in his new role. I am the Fine Gael spokesperson on the environment in the Seanad and I am sure we will work together a lot. I wish to pay tribute to the outgoing Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, who answered questions and dealt with the Bill here. The Department is not an easy one but I know the new Minister will find it easy and make it his own. It is difficult to have press releases on water charges, property charges, septic tank charges and all those difficult issues. The Department has done a lot of heavy lifting in that regard and the Minister will have a lot of heavy lifting to do. The Department is important because it focuses on the environment. It is true that we must protect our environment, and today's legislation deals with the amalgamation of the RPII and the EPA. The merger will lead to an EPA that is stronger than a stand-alone entity and does not mean we will have all officers and no soldiers. The new entity must have one officer. As the Minister has said, it will have five directors. The legislation gives him the power to ensure that, naturally enough, anybody in charge of radiological protection is qualified and knows what he or she is doing. I know that the person and his or her directives will ensure that the very good work done by the RPII is continued. I compliment the RPII staff on their work and hope it will continue in the EPA under one directorship. Too many officers but not enough soldiers doing the work can be a handicap and I wish the Minister the best with this important sector. The Bill has been amended to include radiological protection as well as environmental protection, which is the theme of the legislation, and I hope it will be stronger. Also, a new report on the matter has been published.