John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I intend to provide extra staff for frontline duties. One cannot artificially divide capital investment from current spending. Once one invests in, say, a state-of-the-art sewage treatment plant, which we require to comply with our EU commitments, one needs staff to run it. Ireland is ranked No. 1 in Europe for implementation of the water framework directive and I made that a priority. It means that by 2015 our water must be of good status. We can achieve that and it is vital. I am co-operating closely with my counterpart in the North, Ms Arlene Foster, because many of these river basin districts span the Border and it requires that level of co-operation. I agree with Deputy Tuffy that providing the EPA and local authorities with staff is a requirement. I must examine doing that in the context of budgetary constraints.

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