Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's reference to infringements reminded me of our lengthy discussions on septic tanks. Has that issue been resolved and has it been costly to the State?

As someone who lives near Dublin Port, I have always been interested in maritime transport. Dirty fuels, or bunker fuels as they are known in the trade, have been banned in certain ports. Have any discussions been entered into in that regard?

I welcome the Minister's remarks on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2013. The expert advisory group will be very important in terms of giving confidence to citizens that they are getting proper and independent advice. However, the matter needs to be progressed quickly. I ask the Minister to outline his next steps. He only recently received the report but I am curious to learn his thoughts on it.

On packaging waste, we in Ireland have concentrated on plastic bags. However, I am also concerned about over packaging. We speak about reducing, reusing and recycling but we have not done enough on reducing packaging. I always take note of the level of over packaging of products in supermarkets. This consumes resources and it is more about advertising products than the packaging itself.

Has the Minister given any thought to that?

Air quality in Ireland has improved, especially in urban areas. Mary Harney did well when she was a junior Minister in the Department to ban smoky fuels, which had been creating a major problem in Dublin. However, a recent report was published on air quality in small and medium-sized towns in rural Ireland. The ban on smoky coal has been extended but because such coal is freely sold in Northern Ireland, smuggling still presents a problem. Can this be considered from a European perspective or be discussed with Westminster and the Northern Ireland Executive to address smoky coal on a 32-county basis? If we continue down the road of the ban, smuggling will increase.

Bonfires to burn waste, etc., which are illegal, remain an issue for air quality especially in rural areas. Has the Minister had discussions with local authorities about implementing by-laws in this regard? More dioxins are produced by a bonfire.