David Norris (Independent)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady. I would also have been happy to welcome her predecessor in the House who made a very valiant stand this evening. Very often these Wednesday evening debates during Private Members' time are an opportunity for posturing with a tit for tat routine that means absolutely nothing. However, this evening we have learned a certain amount and I am grateful to the Labour Party for tabling the motion which provoked a significant response from the Minister. It was the best performance I had seen from him in the House. The contribution of Senator Boyle was spirited and absolutely passionate. It came not only from the mind but also from the heart, which is what gives the House real value.

With all the passion we have, we should be on the same side because we are fighting over the same environment, whatever party and ideological framework we come from. In this light, as there was very little that could be offensive to the Government in the Labour Party motion, I told the Labour Party that the only part with which I could see a problem was where it sought the early enactment of climate change legislation promised by the Government but not yet delivered. That statement is factual because I was in the House when Senator Bacik presented her Climate Protection Bill. At that stage she was an independent university Senator. It is a fine piece of work and the Minister was in considerable sympathy with her and gave an undertaking, with a timeframe, that it would be introduced. This was not met, but it was because of the complex difficulties outlined by the Minister this evening. I asked the Labour Party representative, Senator Hannigan, whether he would agree to delete that phrase in order that I could speak with the Government representative, which I did. However, it was considered that my intervention was a little too late, although it might have been accepted. I say this because there is a constructive feeling, despite the dramatics this evening, which I certainly welcome, as they indicated the sincerity of the participants.

I was also told there might be a little difficulty with the final phrase, "remedial measures to address hazardous waste sites, including at Haulbowline, County Cork". However, if I were on the Government side, I would state the Minister answered this very clearly when he indicated this is exactly what was being done. He has stated that in recent years Cork County Council has carried out a comprehensive site investigation, initiated ongoing environmental monitoring at established monitoring points, decontaminated and demolished the steelworks buildings and arranged for site surface clearance. The problem is presented by what may be contained in the infill and soil. The behaviour of the steelworks under its new ownership certainly broke every possible environmental regulation. The Minister stated, "Under my watch, more has been spent on environmental remediation at Haulbowline in a 12-month period than was spent in the previous 68-year history of the site." That should make it perfectly easy for him to accept the final clause of the Labour Party motion because the answer is contained in his speech. It was very sad that an Irish business, Irish Steel, was sold off to an Indian speculator for a nominal sum with no restrictions placed on operations at the plant and no requirement to engage in remedial action. It was an unwholesome episode.

I have consistently raised the issue of water quality. I was delighted to hear a passionate speech from Senator Coffey. It is great to have Members in the House who can speak with such conviction and such a level of knowledge and expertise without reading every word from a script. If it is not seen as patronising, I commend the Senator for making an excellent speech. I was very pleased to hear him talk about cryptosporidiosis and hope he will not mind when I say I brought up the issue some time ago before his election. I was briefed by the university in which I taught on the subject, as it was seen to be of considerable importance. It was so new at that stage that I asked someone to spell the word "cryptosporidiosis" and I am glad to say I was so well briefed that I was able to do so.

We have had a negative judgment recently from the European Court of Justice concerning the quality of our drinking water. Nobody could be happy with the levels of contamination which is a source of real concern. Large sections of our society, Galway in particular, as the Minister of State will know, have been left without drinking water for considerable periods of time, which is scandalous and intolerable, as we are not living in the middle of a desert. Water is not a resource which should be unmanageable. It is a management problem which needs to be looked at.

I would be prepared, rather than delighted, to pay water charges. I believe in the polluter pays principle and that the consumer should pay in accordance with his or her means. There are people who find themselves in more difficult socio-economic circumstances who rely on local authority housing, for example, who should not be badly hit by water charges, but I would be happy to pay as long as I had a good water supply of the proper quality. The Minister of State can include me as somebody who would be happy to pay. I welcome metering because one should pay for what one consumes. I have a house in a very remote area of Cyprus in an agricultural village on the Troodos mountains. It is not the most advanced and sophisticated environment, but my water supply is metered. I do not see why it should be beyond the technical capacity of the authorities in Ireland to introduce it here. I am very glad it is being introduced because it is fair and one should pay for what one consumes.

On other aspects of water contamination, I agree with Senator Ellis. I am aware that the inflexible application of rules can be inappropriate in the spreading of slurry. Farming is a seasonal occupation. One cannot predict the weather with enormous accuracy over a long period. It is not just a question of the impact on farmers; the Senator saw things largely from their point of view when he said no sensible farmer would spread slurry when he knew it would be washed away. However, we must consider the question of where it is washed into. Only yesterday the newspapers were full of stories about another huge fish kill as a result of the release of agricultural slurry. That is a great pity.

I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister of State the risks to the environment from mineral exploration. There is a horrendous, breathtaking tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, involving BP, where millions of gallons of oil are being spewed out. There are large question marks against technical efficiency levels, the ignoring of advice and turning away from the necessity to plug a potential leak in one of the control systems. BP is one of the major oil companies which I ask the Minister of State to bear in mind when we are examining Shell. Deep sea exploration is taking place in the Corrib field and the people of County Mayo have been rightly protesting about their situation where we handed over - just as Irish Steel was handed over for £1 to a speculator which led to damage further down the line - our oil and gas resources for nothing. Exploration is difficult and one has to tempt people with bait, but we have the worst tax yield in the world and a system under which the ordinary people who choose to protest against something which may very well be dangerous, inimical to their welfare and threaten their homes bear the brunt of an attack upon them by Shell, sadly aided by the organs of the State. Like I think everybody else, I am in favour of protecting the environment.

I am very glad that Senator Ellis skirted the possibility of making an attack upon An Tasice. I almost thought I saw the words "An Taisce" forming on his lips, but they did not because the Senator and I know that what An Taisce stated about the dangers presented by one-off housing in the countryside has been absolutely bourne out by the pollution of groundwater. There is no question about this. Now there is barely a mention about having to pick up the cost of remedial action. I express my continuing support of An Taisce-----