Joe O'Toole (Independent)

This House should support the State Pathologist on the issue of a driver and I do not think there would be a difference of views in the House on this matter. This is a serious matter. We know the roads because we are always on them. The idea that someone could drive to a murder scene in north Donegal and then drive to a similar scene in Kerry and operate at peak performance is asking too much. It is wrong. There is no doubt the State Pathologist should have a driver and we should appeal to the Minister to ensure this happens. The Minister says it is up to the Garda to supply a driver. As Senator White has stated previously, he is the most opinionated member of the Cabinet and I am sure he has an opinion on this matter. We should at least ask for his support to put our case to the Garda. It is a serious issue.

The State Pathologist has also made a quite superb offer. She said she is quite happy to make herself available to meet the families of people killed in circumstances that are the subject of Garda investigations. That would provide a great deal of comfort and support to families who often have to wait months and even years for the court process to conclude before finding out details of the death of a loved one. The Minister should articulate a clear view on these issues to see what can be done. I completely support Senator Brian Hayes in this regard.

Yesterday I sought a debate on the export of Irish waste to China. Last night I researched the impact of this policy on the province of Dong Yang in China and it is quite horrific. I was not aware when I raised this yesterday that a series of major demonstrations undertaken by ordinary people in the province was suppressed by the Chinese news agency. News of these demonstrations has only been leaked in recent days. Dark toxic clouds have been reported in the area, which are damaging the health of young children and leading to significant numbers of still births and babies born with deformities while various other difficulties are being experienced. During the most recent protest people were killed in an attempt to stop them demonstrating. This is the result of waste exported from Ireland and the UK being dumped on these people. The waste is sifted through for reusable goods and then it is burned in uncontrolled circumstances to the detriment of the health of the people in the area. This is unacceptable. What we are doing is barbaric and I would like a discussion on this issue.