Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

When it comes to managing waste, I do not want to let this opportunity go without talking about the scenes of litter and waste in Dublin city, as have been profiled in recent days, particularly online. Some of the reasons for consternation and blaming young people are outrageous and wrong. Young people have suffered so much over the past 18 months. We have a genuine issue in that we are telling everyone to enjoy an outdoor summer but we need to prepare for it, not just in Dublin. Luckily enough, I come from near Lough Derg on the River Shannon. Ms Maura Boyle of Larkin's in Garrykennedy was on to me about the volume of people down enjoying the area at the weekend. It is fantastic. It is a question of the level of waste left behind by some people. It is very difficult at times for some people because bins may be full and children and everything else may need to be managed. Across the country, in both urban and rural areas, as we face another bank holiday weekend, we do not need to close streets or anything like that. That just pushes people in other directions. We need to ensure, as my colleague Senator Bacik said eloquently earlier, we need more bins, more benches and more bogs for people. We need them pretty rapidly for an outdoor summer. We can all be safer and it can be enjoyed more. Local authorities need to provide them.

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