Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I have listened to a great deal of nonsense from that side of the House with regard to waste management. The vast majority of people in Cork city pay their service charges. For years Members opposite opposed every opportunity to bring forward an equitable system. It took Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and some other members of Cork Corporation to make bold decisions with regard to the introduction of a liberal waiver system. The figures show that one third of all waivers nationally were delivered by Cork City Council, so there is an opportunity for local authorities to be flexible in their approach to refuse charges.

The people of Cork have responded tremendously to the system introduced. A handful of people are actively discouraging others from co-operating with the system passed by Cork City Council. Many people are recycling their waste, paying their service charges and are quite willing to do so. However, a handful of people are intent on disruption and seeking to bring about what must be considered to be a state of civil disobedience in opposing this measure. I do not mind someone highlighting his or her opinions in a chamber, but it is not acceptable to encourage people to dump rubbish on the public highways of Cork city. I would like councillors to condemn this publicly.

On the question of waste management, there is no doubt that in recent years people have responded. We could not have continued as we were. Cork City Council has taken the lead in this regard and been proactive in ensuring there are proper waste management facilities, bring centres and civic amenities. However, we have a long way to go and I accept that. In recent years, though, tremendous steps have been taken nationally, as well. In 1999 9% of all municipal waste was recycled. The figure is now almost 30% and I am sure that when the figures are published for this year, after the introduction of this system, there will be a dramatic increase in recyclable waste usage in--——

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