Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, to the House. The two parts of this legislation make sense but I have some points to make. Rationalisation can make sense not only in terms of costs but by bringing organisations together to improve output. I sympathise with the previous speaker on his fears as to whether this legislation could dilute the role of the RPII by merging it with the. However, I am also concerned about the role of the EPA generally and I will speak on that issue later today in other business before the House.

The role of the RPII is very important, especially for people in my part of the country around County Tipperary. The Minister of State will be aware that levels of radon in Tipperary are among the highest in the country. Radon detection is a very important function of the RPII as Ireland experiences up to 250 deaths each year as a result of radon and this rate is higher than average annual road deaths. More money should be spent on this issue to ensure safety and to ensure people in Tipperary and counties around the south east are not exposed to high levels of radon gas. Last week a house in Tipperary experienced radon exposure ten times the acceptable level. Last year some 1,200 homes around the country were tested and it was found that 25 houses experienced radon gas at ten times the acceptable level. Such work would not be possible were it not for the RPII. It is important to ensure that this work continues and that it increases when the RPII merges with the EPA.

The Government's policy on mergers and rationalisations was trumpeted when the Government first began. As I said, many of those mergers and rationalisations were necessary to cut costs and make organisations more effective. It remains to be seen whether the merger of the RPII and the EPA will prove to make the resulting organisation more effective.

Some time ago many of the functions of the EPA were carried out at local authority level.

Many of them were different functions and were not carried out as well as they should have been. We did decide to set up the EPA through legislation in 1992 and we have seen how that has grown and what its role has been. I am prepared to wait and see. Those who complain about the job of the RPII being subsumed and being given less importance have a good point. It is up to the Government and the EPA to prove that it remains relevant and does not lose its identity in the bigger context of the EPA.

The second part of the Bill is extremely important. It brings us into line with most other EU member states. It was lying on the shelf since 2004, as Senator Walsh said.