David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I greatly appreciate his kind words. I was not at yesterday's proceedings because I am in five vulnerable categories with regard to Covid-19, so I am afraid of crowds.

The first issue, of two, which I want to raise is that of Qatar. It is in the news now because of the football being played there, a tournament which the country secured by bribery. There is no question or doubt about this. The whole process was corrupt. Qatar has an appalling record on human rights. The stadiums were built by migrant workers, hundreds of whom died without any acknowledgement by the Qataris. Those workers were kept in conditions of slavery. I refer as well to the complete abolition of any rights whatsoever for gay people in Qatar. It is a disgrace that FIFA went along with having this tournament in Qatar. We have now learned as well of Qataris being involved in the bribery of members of the European Parliament. When is this going to stop? I am not sure if we have a Qatari ambassador here, but if we do, he should be called in and given a real reprimand.

My second issue is that of bins. I am old enough to remember when we actually had nice big bins of firm quality in Dublin. For some unknown reason, Dublin City Council, decided to privatise the collection of bins. I well remember, as I am sure many other Members of the House do, when rival tenderers for this job routinely burnt out each other's collection vans. It was like something we would read about concerning the Mafia in New York city. The public are forced to buy flimsy plastic bags that are of no earthly use whatsoever. The seagulls have a field day ripping them apart with their beaks and spreading the rubbish all over the pavements and the streets. This is appalling. This type of situation is recognised as a serious problem in cities such as Amsterdam and the authorities there are attempting to address the problem. I request that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, come into the House. I also ask that he contact the people involved with the bins and attempt to reach some kind of decent resolution. I raise this issue because, to be quite honest with the House, I used to be proud of being a Dubliner, but now I am ashamed because of the condition of the streets. We now have the James Joyce Centre, which draws many tourists to North Great George's Street. It is a sad state of affairs when we see them looking at its terrible condition, with rubbish all over the place. Shame, shame, shame on Dublin City Council.