Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

——and, as we saw tonight, the Green Party has no workable alternative.

Turning first to waste prevention, the EPA is implementing a multi-faceted, multi-annual national programme led by a dedicated core prevention agency. That is the start to prevention. Second, we have established a market development group — the issue of how we deal with recyclables was raised — aimed at developing a market development strategy for waste, although that was ignored by the Opposition.

The Green Party states that Ireland has low recycling rates. That is a distortion of the facts. The claim either demonstrates simple ignorance of the facts that are in the public domain or it is a malign attempt to mislead.

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