Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. While the national spatial strategy was announced with a fanfare, we have yet to see if an implementation group will be established with a supervisory role to ensure it is delivered upon. An example of the farce of the national spatial strategy is that while the midland towns of Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore constitute a new growth hub, County Roscommon, which is adjacent to the first of these, is in the western region. While the plans have come out over the last few weeks detailing the manner in which the Minister sees hubs growing, the people who live within 100 yards of the hub of Athlone are not allowed to have an input into its development plan. That is indicative of the planning under way. The national spatial strategy is supposed to plan for the next 20 years, but the Minister does not know what regions are involved and how it is being structured.

Nothing happened with the Government's decentralisation plans. There has been no co-ordination. It is a typical example of the operation of the Minister's Department. We see it again on the Water Services Bill. Water is a very interesting issue and the Bill will allow for the privatisation of water services. The Minister spoke earlier about the special protection areas and clapped himself on the back. Can the Minister tell me when the negotiations open with farmers in the Shannon callows on compensation for special protection areas? Not only have they not been concluded, but discussions were not ongoing from the time the Minister took office until I put down a parliamentary question to find out that nothing was happening. Despite this, the Minister clapped himself on the back. What else should we expect from the Minister?

He is dithering on that issue and he is dithering on the nitrates directive. The Department of Agriculture and Food went to Brussels with one proposal on the nitrates directive while the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government went there with another. Surely, one of the Ministers could have picked up the telephone to ask what proposals were being put forward to ensure the Government had a common approach. It could not be done as it would have been a good idea. At this point, there are two separate proposals before the European Union. We held a very weak discussion on whether the nitrates directive should be issued as a whole. Can someone explain to me the logic behind the designation of the country and the closed period? Under the famous closed period, one cannot spread slurry even if the weather is at its finest in 12 months. From the day the closed period reopens, the rain could spill for six months preventing one from spreading slurry. Sadly, when it comes to adopting the logical, sensible approach on the environment brief, the Minister has failed. We cannot predict the weather and the Minister cannot put basic structures in place to ensure flexibility. How can we put forward two proposals to Brussels when one must contradict the other? The Minister will get his answer next June as director of elections for Fianna Fáil and as Minister with responsibility for the electronic voting system. He might have spent €50 million on it and he might spend a great deal more to promote his candidates, but he will get his answer come 11 June.

I wish also to make a point about the Minister's role in protecting the environment and promoting the race against waste campaign. The greatest criminal act in the context of the campaign has involved the cost of advertising which is doing nothing. There is no point talking about the race against waste unless alternatives are put in place. The only alternative the Government is talking about is incineration. While the Minister talks about recycling facilities, every county manager with a landfill is afraid to put them in place because he or she thinks they will reduce the income of the local authority. Income is the only priority county managers have. The Minister is the person who gave managers the responsibility for implementing the waste management strategy rather than leaving it with the local authority members who would have ensured that the recycling facilities were established. They would not have prioritised the Minister's issue of incineration. I commend the motion.

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