Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

In theory, I agree with Senator Cullinane that with regard to waste, reducing is at the top of the hierarchy. All types of new ideas will come forward over the next ten years, but what is the Minister to do in the meantime? Is he to keep all the waste in his shed or backyard? We must be realistic. We cannot continue with landfill which poisons our watercourses and pollutes our ground. At present, the solution is incineration and we must go with it.

We all very much welcome the Minister's commitment to local government reform. I hope he will follow through on this and return the powers that have been removed over the years. The amendments are either not practical at the present time or they will be addressed in due course by the Minister.