John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I support the Minister in the work he has undertaken within the Department. I compliment him on the various initiatives he has taken to develop the green agenda. The Minister has made substantial funding available to local authorities to assist them in the work they are undertaking.

The public response has been very positive and people are adapting to a green agenda. They are willing participants with the local authorities to achieve what is necessary within their own communities. The local authorities have responded quite well due to the money they have been given. We must increase the pace of change in local authorities to respond to public support for the green agenda. I compliment the public officials in every local authority who had to convince the general public there was a need to change the culture of waste management. That response is mainly due to the Government's campaign and to the effort of those officials who brought the public on board to ensure people deal with their waste at home and in the recycling centres. I have seen the officials in schools in my constituency who have got the message about dealing with waste across to students. Those students go back to their homes and try out the new methods of dealing with waste. They are making a great contribution to their communities and they encourage others to adopt that green agenda.

Local authorities will have to be encouraged to respond at a far faster pace to public demand in this area. The Minister has shown his commitment by making the funds available. There is no point setting out policy without providing funds to ensure it is put in place. We pass Bills and talk about policy, but often we forget about funding. It has not been forgotten in this case. Most local authorities have moved this agenda forward and are quite supportive.

The WEEE directive, which I have seen first hand in Kilkenny, has gone way beyond expectations. All the traders in the city and across the south east have responded very positively to it. It shows there is public support for this and that the Government is pushing an open door. Much more needs to be done in local authorities to respond to newer demands from the public. We must look at our bureaucratic structure and at how large-scale environmental projects are dealt with. The Purcellsinch treatment plant in Kilkenny is an example of this as pollution in the River Nore is an issue. A new, modern plant is absolutely necessary. It has been debated for the last ten years, yet it has not been delivered. A total of €6.2 million in Government funding was made available for the project between 2000 and 2002, but because of the method applied to deliver such plants, we have yet to see it constructed.

I would like private companies such as Diageo, which is a main player in this case, being up front with the required environmental impact study and admitting its particular stakeholding relative to all other stakeholders in that plant. It is unfair that such a company would hold the community to ransom just because it is not ready to provide its details in accordance with requirements, even when the local authority is ready to do so. This is a typical example of the civic support for such a development as the community is ready to drive it forward and to accept the plant. There is an onus on the private sector, as there was with the WEEE directive when those in business responded positively. As stakeholders, the company has a responsibility and it should respond quicker.

A related topic is how the EPA responds to issues like this. A group in that agency deals with local authority breaches of regulations or breaches of legislation. The public do not perceive that process as effective or transparent and believe it protects local authorities. We must change these perceptions if we are to bring the general public on board in terms of the green agenda. I would like the EPA to investigate that council and process to ascertain the reason that project, essential as it is to Kilkenny, is not being delivered. I would like local authorities to play a more proactive role in tackling the indiscriminate dumping of waste throughout the country by people who refuse to play their part in supporting the community.

I commend the Minister on what he is doing in this area. Much more work needs to be done but necessary funding is being invested by the Government and local authorities, as major stakeholders, should respond at local level.

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