Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Mullen and his offering for what to do with our waste. I have asked myself the same question as I am sure we all have. I recall that a fire took place at a waste provider in Ballymount a few years ago. On that occasion it was thought that the company had hoarded a large amount of recyclables as they had been deemed valuable. Some recyclables are deemed more valuable than others. I am concerned about where all of our rubbish goes and what we are doing with landfill.

I wish to refer to broken promises. A protest by disabled people and their families is taking place today at the front gate from 12 noon until 4 p.m. I urge all of the Senators to engage with the protesters. They have christened their protest "Broken Promises" because they feel that they have never been listened to and their views have not been taken on board. A lot of people have talked about the issue. We must recognise that the Government has failed for ten years to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that was adopted in 2006. As a result disabled people have waited ten years. The Government has failed to reintroduce the transport and mobility grant that was cut in 2013 so disable people have waited four years. Fine Gael promised in its manifesto of 2011 to fund a personalised budget. The Government has failed to implement the initiative so these people have waited six years. The Government has failed to implement in full the Disability Act 2005 and, therefore, these people have been waiting 12 years. I respectfully ask all of the Senators to go out and engage with the disabled people and their families at the front gate. I urge them to find out what these Houses can do to improve their lives.