Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

With due respect to the Minister, the first thing we must do is knock the building before we could switch to the wood that he is on about. We must get the stuff that is there recycled. People have been trying to get around this for the past 14 months, in licences with different councils. I know one person who has taken the initiative of screening topsoil and screening stone out of the loads of muck that comes in. It is fine if it is boulder clay because everyone will use it on the roadways that they are making, and it is perfect stuff. One can put lime into it and it makes a perfect job of a roadway.

The Minister talks about legislation and looking at this. Why is there not a regulation, signed by the Minister immediately, to say that for farm roadways or for a greenway, for example, which there would be no problem with, concrete material or stone that is crushed and tested could be used, or that topsoil could be screened out of a load of muck that comes in? Currently, it is all being dumped.

The Minister speaks about legislation. I welcome his answer and I am not saying that I do not welcome it, but getting legislation passed in here is like pulling teeth. It is pretty slow and I do not want to be here a year's time asking the Minister when is legislation coming. I am asking the Minister, who has the opportunity, to sign a regulation to change this to being green waste or whatever.

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