Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I praise the Department for its wisdom in applying the plastic bag tax. I was recently in Northern Ireland and other countries and the highly visible presence of discarded plastic bags is one of the first things I noticed. Whoever came up with the idea of this tax deserves to be congratulated as it has added greatly to the appearance of our country.

I support this Bill. However, given the current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, I am concerned about its implementation from a political perspective. Senator McCarthy referred to the legislation on the dual mandate. It seems the Houses will not sit for longer hours than has been the case heretofore. It is ironic that the Taoiseach can be both Taoiseach and president of the EU for the next six months and have a dual mandate in that respect, while I, as a humble Senator, cannot have a dual mandate to attend county council meetings.