Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:

—noting the very significant investment which has been made by the Government in developing modern integrated waste management infrastructure and services;

—noting also the remarkable progress reflected in the municipal waste recycling rate of 34% in 2004 (compared to the national target of 35% which was to be achieved by 2013) and the packaging waste recycling rate of 56% in 2004 (compared to the EU target of 50% to be achieved by 2005);

—welcoming in particular the significant funding made available by the Government to co-fund the dramatic expansion in recycling infrastructure which has facilitated the achievement of recycling targets;

—acknowledging the ambitious target of the national strategy on biodegradable waste to achieve the diversion of 80% of biodegradable waste from landfill by 2016;

—recognising the essential contribution which the diversion of residual waste from landfill to energy recovery will make to achieving national and EU waste management objectives;

—recognising also the very important contribution which producer responsibility initiatives in areas such as packaging and electrical equipment are making to the achievement of policy goals;

—reaffirms national policy on the integrated approach to waste management which places greatest emphasis on the prevention, reuse and recycling of waste while recognising the indispensable part which incineration with energy recovery will make to achieving the maximum diversion of waste from landfill; and

—reaffirms that any decision on the proposal for an incinerator at Poolbeg will be the subject of independent determination processes by An Bord Pleanála and the Environmental Protection Agency through the normal planning and licensing processes.

With the agreement of the House I will share time with Deputy McGuinness.

If there was ever an example in this House of the Green Party's willingness to stand truth on its head, this motion is that example. The contributions made by the tittering Member opposite is a particularly high example of that.

The motion before the House in the name of the Green Party is a poor effort by any standard and the contributions have been poorer still.

See this speech in context