Joe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendments. There is nothing that Deputy Catherine Murphy said with which I would not agree. Her points were very relevant and pertinent. In some ways, I have similar comments to make.

I congratulate the Minister on the overall legislation, including this amendment. He has been extraordinarily proactive and grasped very difficult issues in his Department. He has done so with extraordinary deftness and success. These are issues that, for the sake of the people, we have a responsibility to address. Issues include providing clean water on demand for all citizens and having a proper waste management system. Even if it is unpopular to implement proposals in this regard and it does not appear politically smart at the outset, we must do what is right. Ultimately, that is what we are in government to do. This Minister is an extraordinary good example in that regard. Having served in Seanad Éireann with him for five years, I am not surprised that his calibre is reflected in his ministry.

I am in favour of the concept of the fixed payment on the grounds that it prevents unnecessary, cumbersome and expensive court cases. It prevents the waste of the apparatus of the legal system which needs to be deployed elsewhere.

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The fixed fine is a very good option. It must deal with illegal dumping and misconduct by alleged contractors.

We should lower the costs of waste collection at every conceivable opportunity. We all know how burdened our people are and the sacrifices they have had to make over the past four or five years. We should lower the cost of waste collection and processing while having a fit-for-purpose regime.

I am interested in the concept of weight as a method of achieving recycling rather than a flat annual charge. I am very hopeful this will produce good results. I would be interested in hearing the Minister's comments on this. If people pay for waste collection by weight, they are more likely to recycle. I am hopeful this would be the outcome. I am not sure enough is done in composting. It is an area of recycling that offers a lot of potential and I hope we could encourage that. In my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, we are very lucky to have very effective waste management policies and very good local authorities dealing with it. We have very good recycling centres. The town in which I am privileged to live, Bailieborough, has an exemplary and well-run recycling centre that is well used. That is the case throughout the constituency. Recycling needs to be dealt with.

The other area that needs effective action is illegal dumping. If we encourage recycling, make waste collection as cheap as possible and avoid illegal dumping, the Minister would be remembered for yet another enormous success within the Department because this is a very real issue. Illegal dumping is a threat to tourism and public health and is a crime against those who pay their charges. There have been obscene and reprehensible examples of illegal dumping in some very scenic parts of County Cavan with detrimental effects on public health. A very vigilant waste management policy is dealing with it and we have had a lot of success in that area. Will the Minister respond to me about illegal dumping, the use of fixed fines and immediate processing to get people to comply and to regard illegal dumping in the same way they properly regard drink driving, as culturally unacceptable?

We need fit-for-purpose waste collection and recycling systems, domestic recycling through composting and education in that regard. There are many good developments relating to green flags in schools and developing awareness. There are many examples of good things happening in our schools, communities and recycling centres, so there is much to be happy about. However, we should never be complacent about these things.

I am anxious that we progress waste management, get rid of the blight of illegal dumping and encourage recycling. I am very taken with the concept of the fixed charge and I look forward to speaking on the new debt Bill in this regard. The wasteful use of the courts is a pity when there are so many delays in proper cases, including criminal procedures, that should be going ahead. Where possible, fixed fines should be used and debt collection should be by attachment order. We should not waste prison spaces on debtors and the courts system on offenders in the waste area.

This is good, reforming and courageous legislation. That it is not always politically acceptable in the narrow, short-term and populist sense might be an indication that it is ultimately in the long-term good.

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