Denis Landy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. Accusations were laid at her door in the Lower House about the way the Bill had been presented. I compliment her on all 29 pages of her presentation.

This is probably the most wide-ranging Bill I have seen come through in my time in this House. It seeks to amend the Waste Management Act, 1996, the Air Pollution Act, 1987, the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992 and the Water Services Acts, 2007 and 2014. As other Senators said, on Second Stage one takes a broad view of a Bill. I wish, therefore, to focus on a number of areas.

I am keen to deal with the issues of waste and illegal dumping and the parts of the Bill that tackle them, which I fully support. The country has been blighted by illegal dumping. I have several questions to raise and trust the Minister of State will be willing to respond to them.Approximately 25% of houses do not have access to a waste bin collection service. It was reported in last Sunday's newspapers that houses which are not listed as using a waste bin collection service may be liable for fines of up to €3,000. As somebody who has practised recycling, composting and waste management at the domestic level for the last 25 years, I could live without a bin collection service. I ask for clarification on the notion that people could be liable for fines of €3,000 if they cannot prove to their local authority that they do not require their bins to be collected because I have been contacted by a number of people who have concerns about it. We have made great strides on waste management and we are currently responsible for 367 kg of waste per year, compared to an EU average of 438 kg. We have come a long way in this regard.

The Bill also deals with the issue of air pollution and enforcement. I have raised concerns about the EPA on a number of occasions. The previous speaker was more polite than I intend to be. The EPA is charged with controlling air pollution but in 2013 it only brought 11 prosecutions in the entire country, all of which were against local authorities. It did not pursue a single prosecution against an industry. I have previously outlined in great detail my concerns about the role of the EPA in respect of a number of cases. One of the cases involves Enva Ireland, which has polluted the environment of the two counties in which it is based, Laois and Clare, and is responsible for particularly severe pollution in the centre of Portlaoise. I was given a commitment by the previous Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government that a report was forthcoming from the EPA on Enva's activities. I am still waiting for that report. The EPA must act to deal with these issues under the Environmental Protection Act 1992, which tasks it with monitoring industry and local authorities. Nobody monitors the EPA, however. That is not acceptable and I hope this legislation will address the matter.

We have had numerous debates on water charges in this House. Water charges have been put on the same footing as other utilities, such as gas and electricity. People who comply and register will get a conservation grant towards their water charges. They will not get a grant from the ESB or the gas utilities. There is at last a recognition that supplying water in rural Ireland requires a different approach than in the cities, with rural dwellers now being categorised into those who use septic tanks and those who rely on the public wastewater systems.

Many of the provisions of the Bill aim to tidy up areas of the law. I welcome the provisions on Muckross House in Killarney, which is an iconic building. I also welcome that the registration system for fuel suppliers is being tightened to close off the loopholes which previously prevented prosecutions. The changes to the regulations for dog breeding is also important in light of past cases involving puppy farming and cruelty against dogs. I look forward to discussing these provisions further on Committee Stage and thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take the Bill.