Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister, Deputy Roche, and his officials. I welcome the significant progress that has been made in the relatively recent past. There was a time when bottle banks were the only recycling facilities available. We have started to adopt a policy of waste separation, which has been pursued in continental Europe for many years. I have experience of household waste management in a rural area — south Tipperary, where the waste collection service is operated by a private contractor — and in an urban area — Dún Laoghaire, where it is operated by the local authority.

I would like to the draw the Minister's attention to the unintended operation of financial incentives, an issue that was raised by Senator John Paul Phelan and others. The countryside cleaned up greatly when the plastic bag tax was introduced. My colleague, Senator White, has reminded me that the idea for that successful initiative emerged from a Fianna Fáil policy group. I regret that dumped bags full of rubbish are appearing on our roadsides to a greater extent in recent months than was previously the case.