Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

——and to the most obdurate Member of the House, that the electronic system is suitable to be used in Irish elections.

We have made a large-scale commitment to our water services infrastructure in recent years. For example, compliance with the 2005 targets in the EU urban wastewater directive, which stood at 25% at the start of the NDP period, had risen to 90% at the end of December 2004. In addition, we have seen the completion of many large wastewater treatment plants including Ringsend, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Wexford, Drogheda and Dundalk.

As of December 2004, the increase in wastewater treatment capacity provided since 2000 was equivalent to the needs of a population of 3 million. By any objective standards that is remarkable progress. Rapid progress has also been made to eliminate substandard water supplied by group water schemes. Extraordinary work is being done in that regard.

Major infrastructural deficits in waste management have been addressed by the environment fund, financed by the plastic bag and landfill levies. Since 2002, over €50 million worth of grant allocations have been made from the environment fund to finance waste and recycling infrastructure.

Significant progress has also been made in increasing recycling provision since 1998, including bring banks, recycling centres and separate bin collections for recyclable material. The recycling rates we are achieving are impressive. The overall recycling rate has been accelerating rapidly, from 9% in 1998 to 28% in 2003.

Packaging waste recycling was 42% in 2003, up from less than 15% in 1998. EPA figures show that the percentage of municipal waste being landfilled fell from 92% in 1998 to 78% in 2003. While we should celebrate these successes we do, of course, have a long way to go.

A national waste prevention programme was launched in April last year with funding of €2 million. More progress has been made than we could have imagine a few years ago, and it will be sustained in the coming years.

I also wish to refer to non-national roads, which are so important in creating local and national interconnections. We have seen a dramatic improvement in our non-national road network under this Government. Since 1996, around €1.4 billion has been allocated to county councils for improvement works under the ten-year restoration programme. From 1997 to the end of 2004 it is estimated that more than 34,000 km, or 73% of the then deficient network, will have been restored to an acceptable condition. Some 49 strategic non-national road schemes in 15 local authorities have been approved for funding. These critically important schemes will facilitate the provision of more than 44,000 housing units and benefit more than 900 hectares of industrial land when completed.

The EU co-financed specific improvement grants scheme for widening and realignment works on non-national roads is also important for employment and economic activity. In 2004 approximately 240 km of such roads were improved. The allocation in 2005 is €89.5 million for 226 schemes.

The capacity of public administration here has been recognised by international commentators, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, as one of our strengths. It is a key positive factor for Irish competitiveness. The Opposition is doing a disservice to trivialise the extraordinary achievements of recent years in developing our infrastructure. Much has been done and more will be done under this Government. Most of our major capital projects are delivered through private sector consultants and contractors and an increasing number of services involve public private partnerships.

It is right that we should demand high performance and a commitment to continuous improvement from all public bodies. This is a guiding objective for me in my leadership of the local government sector. In this regard the Government and I will continue to demand accelerated delivery of infrastructure, efficient use of resources and value for money for the taxpayer.

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