Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

There is a reference to garbage in this section and legislation has been introduced in that regard. I presume this Bill will strengthen that legislation because there is a still a major problem for communities in coastal areas with refuse washing up on the coastline. When the legislation was introduced in the House a few years ago, there was an indication that the wine bottles and bits of broken net would be covered by the legislation because it was to tidy up the situation where a huge amount of refuse was being washed up on the shore as a result of commercial ships and fishing vessels operating off the coastline.

The situation has not improved to any great extent over the last couple of years. Many disposable nappies were washed up on the west Clare coastline last summer which came from a ship which lost its cargo off the west coast. There were sufficient disposal nappies in west Clare for a few weeks to take care of a lot of children.

It is a serious matter. A lot of refuse and garbage is being dumped from vessels all the time. It is a problem for local authorities, because they have responsibility for clean ups, and for local communities involved in the Tidy Towns competition and so on. I understood there was legislation to control all of this and that ship owners and companies could be prosecuted under it for causing pollution. It appears the legislation is not working and it needs to be looked at again. If this Bill tightens it up, I support it.