Mark Dearey (Green Party)

I agree with the calls for a debate on waste management, the issue underpinning the points, some of them valid, on the legitimate expectations to which Senator Regan referred. I do not doubt that the Minister is aware of the requirements for consistency with legitimate expectations, but the situation is more complex, as he warned the incinerator's promoters that the waste management strategy had changed and now involved new thinking. International studies on the best way to handle waste did not recommend a mass burn municipal incinerator. If the incinerator contracts go ahead, they will eventually be seen as akin to the West Link contracts that so enraged people. We will either pay fines for not providing the required levels of waste or stop recycling to ensure we avoid those fines. Neither is a palatable solution.

Taking waste and not viewing it as a resource is out of synch with the 21st century. Resource scarcity is a considerable issue and resource wars will begin to emerge. We must look after our resources, given our position as an island nation dependent on imports. The burn technology to deal with waste is dinosaur technology and needs to be put to one side. Leading experts in the Irish recycling industry with whom I have spoken believe that 100% recycling of all waste streams within the municipal waste quotient is possible. I was impressed by some of what I heard recently. Mentioning names and companies would be invidious, but one can think of the country's main companies.