Since the current Minister took control of waste management there has been no evidence of leadership or meaningful funding of local authorities, demonstrating that the Minister is not serious about achieving real results. Since the Protection of the Environment Bill was passed, there has been no leadership or policy direction to local authorities, public agencies, businesses or the public, apart from a few national advertisements, where a man swings a rat, across the countryside. Where are the waste services and infrastructure to meet modern waste management needs? Where is the commitment to a network of new, state of the art landfill sites? Despite the incineration proposals, there will always be a need for a residual landfill capacity and any waste management process must be sustainable. There must be proper assessments of the implications of any developments to prevent any further deterioration of environmental, social and economic structures and to ensure they make a positive contribution to the environment.