Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I also welcome the Minister. As a former distinguished Member of this House, he has a greater understanding and respect for the institution that the Seanad is despite proposals to get rid of us.

I assume the EU directives include the T90 test. Has there been any advance in the discussions the Minister had with members of Leitrim County Council and Oireachtas Members from the area?

Unlike Senator Wilson, I welcome the provision for future Ministers to be able to raise the plastic bag levy to 70 cent if they wish. I am not suggesting it be raised now but I remember when it first started. I call into the Liffey Valley shopping centre quite often and it was a microcosm of the real difficulties that arise with plastic bags. I remember talking to a staff member in Marks and Spencer who told me that prior to the introduction of the levy, the place was like a tip, with plastic bags everywhere, and in the immediate aftermath of the levy's introduction, the environment was pristine. Recently, however, old habits have started to creep back in. Has the Department monitored the effectiveness of the legislation and its impact? Are people getting used to it? Do stores charge for the bags or are they absorbing the cost? Is the levy still fit for purpose? Plastic bags are still being dumped illegally in rural areas.

Will the Minister look at the recyclable waste situation? Not all plastics can be recycled, although I cannot understand why not. As a result, there is a tendency in rural areas for people to burn non-recyclable plastics, which then causes air pollution.

A new technology will enter the lexicon, fracking. It relates to the extraction of gas from the Lough Allen basin in six counties. The information from Europe is that legislation is insufficient to address this new technology in terms of the adverse impact it could have on the environment. Does the Department have a role to play in legislating for this, even though it will fall under the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources for licensing? There is an absence of legislation in the European context.