Jimmy Harte (Labour)

The Minister is very welcome to the Chamber. As somebody who came through the local authority route to the Houses, similar to the Minister, I know these issues are very relevant to councillors throughout the country and local authorities. I have a particular interest in landfill charges, in which I see a carrot and stick procedure. I spent 17 years with a local authority and in the beginning plastic bags were thrown everywhere and rubbish was dumped on the side of the road.

I was on a tour of Europe several years ago with Donegal County Council, and we visited many cities, particularly in Denmark and Germany, where the local heating systems run by waste were used as part of daily life. I do not know if we will ever get to the stage where the landfill can be bypassed and heat generators from waste provide energy and heating to homes. It is an ingenious system that has been in Europe for generations, so we can consider it for the future. Thermal waste disposal can be examined as we cannot continue to dump our waste in landfill. At some stage the amount of waste being generated, with the increasing global population, will be greater than can be managed. We are getting to that stage in Ireland now.

I welcome the provision for landfill charges in the legislation. Before the plastic bag levy was introduced I proposed it to Letterkenny town council. I had been on holidays in France, where it was normal for a levy to be charged on plastic bags.

At that stage, it might have been the equivalent of 2 cent or 3 cent. It has not increased by very much. The attitude in Europe seems to be different. Plastic bags are not generally handed out unless one asks for them. When I was on holidays in France recently, I noticed that people generally bring their own bags or boxes with them. They seem to have moved past the stage of plastic bags. It is only when people ask for them that they are produced.

Senator Ó Domhnaill said there seems to be an increase in the number of plastic bags in circulation. It had gone down. My theory is that the increase has been caused by supermarkets like Asda in Northern Ireland handing out plastic bags without any charge. Perhaps the Minister will discuss the matter with the authorities on the other side of the Border. I understand legislation has been, or is about to be, introduced to impose a levy on plastic bags in Northern Ireland. Having been there, I know that if one asks for 20 plastic bags, one will be handed 20 plastic bags. The plastic bags one sees in the hedges in counties like Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth probably come from Asda rather than Tesco. That could be the reason for the increase in the proliferation of plastic bags.

I welcome the change in local government funding that will allow the local government fund to be used for all roads and for public transport. From my experience with local authorities over the years, when they want to do work they are often told by the Department that they cannot do so. I am sure the Minister will appreciate the benefit that local authorities will derive from the extra latitude they are being given. If they have money to spend, they will be allowed to spend it. At least it will be there for that use.

On the question of placenames, I ask the Minister to consider a phenomenon I have encountered over the years. I refer to the names of local authority housing estates rather than the names of towns. The name given to an estate is generally changed six months after it is built. People who had an address like "1 New Houses, Letterkenny" or "1 The Cottages, Letterkenny" are asked by the local authority to adopt a different name six months later. The first name that was given to the estate is generally used for years afterwards. I know many estates in County Donegal - I am sure it happens in other areas of the country - where people say they live somewhere like "6 New Houses" even though their official address is something like "6 St. Colmcille's Avenue". Perhaps the Minister can consider making it mandatory for estates to be named before their local authority status commences. It is not the same as the "An Daingean" issue, which seems to be as confusing as trying to split the atom. I do not know how people got to this stage. It is not a matter for me, however. I am glad we do not have that issue in County Donegal. I welcome the changes being made by the Minister and fully support the legislation before the House.