Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I also want to express my deep concern and disgust at the devastation caused in Limerick with the brutal slaying of a model citizen, young Shane Geoghegan. Speakers on all sides of the House have said we need to exercise relevance in Seanad Éireann. This is one of the biggest concerns among ordinary law abiding people, namely, the future and security of our citizens. What happened this week is having a seriously negative effect on society and on the confidence of our people that they are being protected in their homes. I can recall former Ministers not so long ago talking about zero tolerance. Where is zero tolerance today when we see these people driving around in bullet-proof cars and giving two fingers to the law and the country's authorities? It is a serious matter that we need to be concerned about in the Seanad and should debate urgently, namely, the whole future regarding crime, especially gangland crime, and citizens' safety. It is an area in which Senators should have an interest and I ask the Deputy Leader to provide time soon for a debate on all this.

I have raised on a number of occasions the issue of the national waste management strategy, and I am aware the Deputy Leader, Senator Boyle, has an interest in this area. I see in today's newspapers that Indaver Ireland is again proposing more incinerators for Cork Harbour. Other communities throughout the country are being divided by proposals for incinerators. No clear strategy or co-ordination is being shown by Government in the area of waste management. Last week and the week before we heard about the waste management crisis that is looming because of the lack of markets for recyclable materials. At the same time, ad hoc decisions are being taken by both the public and private sectors with proposals for incinerators. If they are all built, I do not know how they will keep going. Will they burn one another? That number of incinerators is unsustainable. Regardless of whether one is for incineration, a clear strategy is needed from the Government on waste management. I call on the Deputy Leader to ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to come to the Seanad, inform Members of the strategy and talk to them about the co-ordination of waste management services in this country before it is too late.