Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

We have agreed that the Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2008 will be taken without debate. I wish to raise the matter, however, especially given the news this morning that an incinerator is going ahead in County Meath. In my constituency in Rathcoole, an application for an incinerator by a private developer has gone straight to An Bord Pleanála in line with the changes to legislation under the essential infrastructure rules. What is the Fianna Fáil-Green Party policy on incineration, and how many incinerators does the Government believe are necessary in this country? We must ask serious questions about waste management policy given that exempted development and essential infrastructure are being used in this way to fast track planning applications for private developers. I would like a response from the Leader on the matter.

I wish to return to yesterday's discussion about the expenditure of €200,000 on an office for the former Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern. Concern was expressed on all sides of the House about the amount of money involved. I hope that when it comes to dealing with the economic situation, that the most vulnerable will not be targeted and that the issue of waste will be dealt with seriously by the Government and reformed. I previously brought to the attention of the House statistics on waste in recent years. Much concern was expressed yesterday about the expenditure of €200,000, which is unacceptable, and gives us a bird's eye view of the waste of public money. The cost of the decentralisation programme is €1.27 billion. What will happen in that regard in the weeks ahead? The overruns on the East Link and West Link toll bridges ran to €407 million. The computer system PPARS cost €186 million. I hope the other side of the House is as concerned about these enormous amounts of waste as it is about the amount we discussed yesterday. In any review of the economy the question of managing waste in Government-financed projects should be prioritised as opposed to attacking front-line services. We want to see a new approach to the management of public money in the months ahead.

At a conference last Friday the Director of Public Prosecutions highlighted his concern over legislation on children. The headline from The Irish Times to a report written by Carol Coulter was "DPP warns of major difficulty in taking underage sex cases." He is extremely concerned that cases are not being taken now that should be taken. Clearly children are not being protected. I am a member of the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children. I am concerned that the Government is not clear about its direction regarding an amendment on children's rights or legislation. If the DPP is warning of major difficulty in taking these cases, it effectively means that children are not being protected and there is a gap in the law which is of great concern to us. There have been quite a number of high-profile cases in recent months where children were not protected.

This issue is of great seriousness. We need the Leader to tell us the line the Government is taking. Will it proceed with an amendment or has it got cold feet following the experience with the referendum on the Lisbon treaty? Will it introduce legislation that might deal with the issue to a degree? One way or another, we need immediate action on the issue. The DPP is extremely concerned about the lack of protection for children in these cases. He has said it is "immensely more difficult" to take cases now than it was before. This is a very serious legislative issue that may need emergency legislation before the end of this Dáil term. If there is to be emergency legislation next week, it should be in this area.