Michael McCarthy (Labour)

—serve this cause to the extent that it should and a great deal of money has been expended to bring about the desired effect.

We need to have a proper recycling system in place if we are serious about asking people to recycle their goods. There is no point having a strategy or initiative that encourages this if we do not have the facilities there to ensure the end product is delivered.

As Senator Brady pointed out, we debated the Protection of the Environment Bill earlier this year. Many people had difficulty with this contentious Bill. I had strong reservations and spoke to that effect during the debates on it. This legislation will be remembered for one thing only, the fact that it gave county and city managers the power to set the refuse charge and leave waste uncollected in cases where bills were not paid.