Joe O'Toole (Independent)

The issue was then raised by Senator Ciaran Cannon who produced a document in the House on developing the green economy which had been signed by two Ministers, namely, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Mary Coughlan, and the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan. A recommendation that there be a national water authority was signed off on by two Ministers as being part of Government policy, with a commitment that they put it into operation quickly and efficiently. I do not care about the views of the Government on Fine Gael's position but I care strongly about the three points of view being expressed by the Government. One way or the other, the House has been misled. The two Ministers who signed off on the proposal two months ago did so without Government authority or else the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, spoke last night without Government authority.

Senator Cannon has raised an issue on which the rest of us, from a non-political party point of view, want an answer. It is not good enough. The issues which have arisen regarding waste in the past few days are ones to which we need to return. I am not saying the Leader has the answer but I would like the Minister to come back to the House to explain the dichotomy between the two Government positions articulated by three Ministers on two occasions in the past three months.