John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for attending. I want to say to Ms Hone that it is refreshing to have someone before us who tells it as it is and who demands the type of action that the Government and the politicians who make up that Government should take. I hope that this morning's hearings were listened to and that her voice, along with the constructive contribution made by the four people beside her, all men, will be heard loud and clear. On apportioning blame, as a country we have watched illegal quarries operate for decades and did nothing and are doing nothing about it. The challenge in this is for those in national Government, local government, health and safety, the EPA, building controls and the National Standards Authority of Ireland, NSAI, to take their jobs seriously and go to these quarries and do the job that they are paid to do; that is not happening. As we sit here in this room, I know that in Kilkenny and Laois there is significant quarrying going on that is absolutely illegal. It has been reported and highlighted in the Dáil. I brought one issue to the direct attention of the Green Party in the person of the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and not only did he not reply but nobody that had any authority in relation to the issue replied.

In her contribution, Ms Hone mentioned the appointment of a senior counsel. That will happen when it happens when they go through the motions of procurement and so on but that is only a step. The real drudge will happen after that. It will be a case of "On this hand; on that hand" and then at the end it will probably be on no one's hand but the Government and those who make it up.

They know full well what has to be done. The big question is, as in many other areas, whether they are ready and prepared to take on the vested interests. That is the question. Are they ready to arrest somebody for doing something wrong or are they not? If there is any evidence required to do that sort of extreme thinking and extreme action, I am sure there are many people who can bring forward that evidence or direct them to a quarry that is breaking the law and which forces local authorities to take them to court, spending taxpayers' money that was hard earned in the first place, and playing ducks and drakes with the system itself. Cowboys, the lot of them.

I say to all of the witnesses here who represent the industry and who are associated with the industry that I know how far all of you have come in recognising regulation, recognising best practice, and doing the best you can. It is time for the Government to take the lead on this and to root out those who simply should not be in the business. Not only are they causing this mayhem and havoc for people, they are also creating environmental disasters. They are disasters.

I thank the representatives for coming in and I commend them on their contribution. It is up to us now to try to make some sort of difference as we deal with this. Those who are central to the cause of it, however, are the ones who should be paying. I do not believe in taking money out of profits because, one way or the other, it goes back to the person at the end of the line, who will pay one way or the other. Those who are wrong on this should be made to pay, as much as they can be identified and made to pay, but the Government certainly, and local government in particular, have a long way to go to impress me in terms of the policing of the regulations and the preventing of illegal activities in quarries. There is one such quarry in Kilkenny, which I will not mention, although I have mentioned it in the House. That is the reality and that is our job of work to do.

I will suspend this part of the meeting for two minutes while we change over. I thank the witnesses for coming in today and I thank the members.