Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)

I am concerned about an issue which is causing disharmony in a beautiful part of the world which is near and dear to the Leader's heart and where he holidays annually, namely, the area west of Gleneagle and towards the meeting of the waters, which includes Brickeen Bridge, Glena and Muckross, and encompasses a national park. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, made an order that a certain device will have to be attached to horses pulling carriages in the park from early next month. I would like the Leader to use his good offices to discover what liaison, if any, has taken place with the town council because it appears that if this is not required for insurance or other purposes, the licensing authority will be obliged to issue the licence and we will have one law on the streets and a different law, so to speak, in the national park. This could be a profitable business. This is about not allowing the manure to be spread about. Colleagues across the water got into frightful difficulty recently in regard to manure, moats and mortgages and apparently they were able to claim for that valuable substance on their expenses. This is a matter for by-laws. I wonder if the Government is putting the cart before the horse, so to speak. I employ the words of that renowned, colourful journalist who wrote last week, is Government policy now "A lot dung, more to poo."