John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government contains a commitment to improve the environment. I want to talk about a report in the IrishIndependenton a whale that was washed up in Asian waters. I argue that the contents of its stomach could be found inside any large sea animal washed up in Irish waters. They included 115 plastic cups, two flip-flops, 13 lbs of trash, four plastic bottles, 25 plastic bags and more than 1,000 other items. What plans does the Government have to clean up the waters around the Irish coastline, the Atlantic ocean and the Irish Sea, which, as the Taoiseach knows, are very much polluted with plastics, causing detrimental effects for the health of the fish that swim in them?

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