Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I had the opportunity to watch the programme last night. It was an excellent programme. What we saw last night on "RTÉ Investigates" was a disturbing picture that tells us that we have a long way to go when it comes to waste enforcement in Ireland, and that what is happening in some - perhaps many - parts of the country is seriously harming our environment and certainly harmful to human health.

We have come a long way in Ireland when it comes to waste management and waste enforcement. Only 20 years ago, this was a matter that was solely controlled by local authorities and almost everything went to landfill. I remember those landfills, one such being Dunsink in my constituency where everything was just thrown into a landfill and there was almost no recycling or efforts to reuse or reduce at that time.

It is evident to me, however, and I imagine everyone in this House, that compliance and enforcement is not what it should be. There is significant variation in enforcement from local authority to local authority, as the Deputy Micheál Martin pointed out. He singled out Donegal County Council in particular where enforcement is low. We need to bear in mind that local authorities have a responsibility to decide how they allocate their own resources. Donegal allocates the least compared with other counties and Deputy Micheál Martin will be aware that the largest delegation on that local authority is Fianna Fáil. The second largest is Fine Gael. Of course there are councillors from my party too.

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