Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

Making the design of waste management plans an executive function has already been discussed at length in both Houses. Our approach is fully vindicated by the recent attempts on the part of a small number of councillors to undermine their own waste and development plans in Galway. We cannot allow further stalling. The plan currently in place must be implemented as soon as possible. We simply cannot have it both ways.

As I said in my opening remarks, the Bill has received extensive consideration in the Houses, from which it has benefited greatly. Other than in a relatively small number of respects, it has been generally well received. This reflects the fact that care for the environment is a key responsibility for everyone. As I said, we are all custodians of the environment and cannot point the finger at local authorities. We all have a responsibility when we see people flicking the cigarette packet, the bottle, the plastic bag or whatever it may be, which brings me to the major success of the plastic bag levy. When we see this happen, we have a responsibility to report those concerned. We cannot have local authority representatives at every crossroads to police matters. First and foremost, this is our country and we have a responsibility to ensure we pass it on in a better state than we found it.