Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I wish to share five minutes of my time with Senator Ormonde.

I welcome the Minister and the publication of the Bill. I congratulate the Minister and his Department on grasping the nettle and taking on this sometimes emotive but extremely important issue – pollution prevention and control. The thrust of the Bill is to bring the 1992 and 1996 Acts into line with legislation in the rest of the European Union using the best available techniques. It is a balanced Bill – it balances enforcement with protection. That is the key to how prevention and control can be implemented. While it increases the fines and strengthens the requirements for an applicant to be a fit and proper person, it still maintains a number of safeguards such as the new provision for an objector to request an oral hearing. This is most important to many communities. My own experience in the city, where quite a number of issues have arisen regarding waste disposal and the control of pollution, was that much of the hysteria was generated purely for political reasons. The controls included in the Bill ensure this is tackled head on.