Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Hoctor. I refer to a couple of points Senator Ellis made about dumping, farm waste and so on. I fish a lot and travel to many rural areas. In many lakes and rivers one sees much dumping of fridges, old cars and, in some cases, animals. This problem is not being treated seriously. The fines are so low that they are really not effective, particularly where rivers and lakes are polluted as a result of farmers spreading slurry excessively on land, which effluent then runs into drains.

We must consider initiatives to change existing waste disposal practices, reduce unnecessary volumes of waste, whether food waste, plastic waste or packaging materials, and encourage reuse, such as returnable glass bottles. Businesses must reduce waste to become more competitive.

I recently bought a battery charger for a mobile telephone. One would have needed a penknife or a good sharp knife to open it because it was wrapped in two layers of plastic packaging. That type of packaging is unnecessary. Some large bottles of minerals are wrapped in plastic. I do not see why plastic wrapping is needed on a bottle of Lucozade or whatever. It is unnecessary. Obviously, somebody is making money out of this. We must consult the manufacturers.

Senator Norris made a very good point in that if one asks someone to repair an electrical appliance, whether a television, washing machine or otherwise, the first thing one is told is to dump it and buy a new one. No one repairs appliances anymore. There were good people in that business, especially in the repair of radios and televisions. They made a good living out of it and they did a good job. Nowadays a television is dumped if the least thing goes wrong with it. That creates unnecessary waste. As Senator Norris said, we should encourage people to set up in business repairing these items and put proper incentives in place.

Car dumping is a major issue in Dublin. Last weekend I was on the Malahide Road and I noticed signs on a builder's site beside a Traveller site saying "Used cars for sale — €49.99". I made inquiries and found out that the owners of these cars did not want to dispose of them and paid people to take them away. Those cars will be dumped two or three times.

Another way to dispose of a car is to take the number plate off it and drive it on to Dollymount Strand so that the local authority disposes of it. We should trace the owners of these cars and the proper action should be taken against these offenders.

There is another problem with unlicensed waste disposal operators who advertise and put fliers in doors. People living alone, in particular, give them €150 to take waste away, whether chairs, other furniture or whatever. That waste is dumped on the roadside beside Traveller sites. I am not singling out Travellers because everybody has a role to play in this. I have spoken to Dublin City Council about this problem and removing this waste costs a considerable sum of money. However, nothing is being done about it. When people camp illegally on the roadside and move off - everyone knows who they are — all their rubbish is left behind. Nothing is done about that.

The question of the material we get has been raised. Agencies, whether the Combat Poverty Agency or otherwise, send us much material. When one goes to a launch or a presentation, one gets much glossy material which is a waste of taxpayers' money and is unnecessary. There is no awareness among some people that this material is unnecessary.

If one buys a coffee and a biscuit in the canteen in this House, the biscuit is so well wrapped that one would need a scissors to open it. The same applies to ketchup. There is no need for such wrapping. People drinking six packs in parks dump the cans and wrapping and nothing is done about that. Prevention is the name of the game. The greatest increase in waste has occurred with households and that could be reduced if waste was managed. There are better facilities for recycling, such as the depot on Oscar Traynor Road in Coolock. Sometimes it is full or no more waste can be taken because the lorry did not arrive to take it away. It is then dumped down on Dollymount Strand and things are so bad now that the residents themselves have had to set up a voluntary organisation to do a clean up a few times a week. We should take a serious look at this kind of issue. Action must be taken against offenders for illegal dumping, irrespective of who they are.

There are also licensed operators who use skips when people are clearing out houses or carrying out building work. These skips are often left on the streets for weeks without being picked up. They become a nuisance and a safety hazard. They are not lit up at night and they are quite dangerous. Young people often remove cans of paint from them and pour them all over the road. It costs the local authority thousands of euro to clean up afterwards.

Senator Boyle has opposed any moves on incineration, but we must have some form of it because waste must be disposed. The key is prevention. Manufacturers should be consulted because there is no need for the over-packaging in the clothing and other industries.