Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are really three Bills in one. There is probably no difficulty with some of the provisions, but it would have been very helpful to have had a decent Second Stage debate to discuss some of the issues being addressed by way of amendments.

The waste industry has left a trail of destruction in its wake in some parts of the country and some of the problems have been very expensive to remediate. There have been improvements during the years, but I still have very serious concerns about oversight, the industry and the ability of the EPA and local authorities to monitor waste management. Essentially, remediation has cost an absolute fortune in some areas. I have referred before to the waste mountain that grew on the outskirts of Naas. It was only when it went on fire that it became an issue of national importance. The fire service was on site for three or four weeks. The then Minister, Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, more or less said the authorities had better go in and do what was needed, but there had been complaints to the EPA for years, in spite of which the waste mountain continued to grow. It is costing in the region of €40 million to remediate the problem and we do not know what damage was done to watercourses.

There are similar circumstances in County Meath where groundwater was poisoned by dumping. It caused serious health problems which cannot be quantified. Therefore, it is really important that we get waste legislation right.

With regard to amendment No. 11, it seems there is a reduction in the fine from €5,000 to €3,000. Is this in line with the Fines Act? Is it a new figure or a figure that has been varied?

With regard to amendment No. 12, there is a fixed penalty. The Minister referred to a failure to have a permit and a failure to be visually compliant. I am all in favour of cutting down on administration if something can be done in a much more direct way. In this regard, I have some proposals to make on parking fines in other legislation. If a local authority does have to prosecute, will the fine be substantially more? Will it encourage local authorities to commence court proceedings? It can be so draining and expensive administratively to take the court route. However, I accept the Minister's point that this is about ensuring compliance or, at the very least, visual compliance.

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