Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion, which I support, and commend the Labour Party on tabling the subject for debate. I also want to acknowledge the contributions of all Members. I listened to three or four speeches.

This is a topic on which every Member across the political divide wishes to promote and secure progress. If any party placed a motion re climate change or broader environmental issues on the Order Paper ten or 15 years ago, most Members would have wondered about what the motion was concerned. The rightful success of the environmental movement since then has resulted in every citizen of the world recognising the fact that environmental issues are of considerable concern and must be addressed. We need only reflect on the success of Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth", a year ago to appreciate that the debate on environmental protection concerns every political party and group in society, not just one.

The motion before the House refers to the Government's performance in recent years, our response to climate change, our plans and how we are adapting to deal with the current situation. Fianna Fáil's slogan at the last election — "A lot done, more to do" — could apply to this issue. While progress has been made, more work must be done.

I will comment on some of the issues raised in the Minister's speech. He referred to waste management and the contribution of recycling, etc. It is an area in which local authorities have probably moved in the wrong direction in the past ten or 15 years. Only recently have they taken on board the issue of recycling and provided suitable recycling centres and sufficient recycling facilities.

In my county and parish, we have spent tens of millions of euro on developing a large landfill site.