Kevin Humphreys (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Today's edition of The Irish Timescarried a report on bogus marriages. I compliment An Garda Síochána and the public servants in the Department of Social Protection who introduced the Civil Registration (Amendment) Act 2014 that allowed An Garda Síochána to tackle this issue. Not only has it reduced the number of bogus marriages in Ireland, but it has also had a positive effect in respect of how women from Portugal and eastern European countries were being exploited through being trafficked into Ireland for bogus marriage purposes. That was a very good job of work on the part of the previous Government. I had the honour of bringing that legislation through this House and the Dáil. The legislation has proved itself to be a job well done.

Air pollution, particularly in Dublin, was raised earlier. Bogus marriages were dealt with through a strategy and proper legislation. The issue of air pollution represents the opposite where policy change has encouraged an increase in the number of diesel cars on our roads, particularly in our cities. This has significantly damaged the health of people living in urban areas. We now have highest number of registrations of diesel cars in Europe. Over 50% of all new cars are diesel cars. These are not really suitable for use in Dublin. Many European cities are now looking at banning diesel cars. I am disappointed that the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government did not carry out the proper research when they encouraged the increase in the number of diesel cars on the road. This is damaging the health of many citizens. The Department of Finance's proposals were published prior to the last budget and stated that we should look again at this and bring forward policies to reduce the number of diesel cars to improve health and undo the damage done by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government.