Spring Seminar of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland

Let me begin by conveying apologies from my colleague, Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who is unable to be here today as he is abroad on Government business.

I see from the seminar programme that you are addressing three topics of serious concern to people throughout Ireland. I don’t think anyone could argue that the EU has not had a huge influence on Ireland in so many ways.

EU funding has impacted on many aspects of Irish economic, social and agricultural life that we almost take much of it for granted now. In most cases this has led to an upsurge in our living and working conditions, and perhaps more importantly, has galvanised successive Governments to address issues critical to Ireland’s development, particularly in areas such as infrastructural and economic development.

Economic growth is the engine of development. It has allowed us to make colossal improvements that we couldn’t even dream about twenty years ago. However, I want to make it clear that development encompasses much more than a thriving economy. It’s also very much about the total quality of life that people experience day in and day out. The reality is that a society’s development is about more than addressing the economy. Despite stunning economic progress, pockets of disadvantage still persist. New areas of concern have emerged: some commentators believe that we are becoming a more inward looking, less generous society than heretofore. The increase in commuter populations has meant that people have less time to devote to efforts within their community. Care for the young and older people are areas of increasing priority.

This Government is committed addressing these issues and to local communities having a say in influencing public policy at local level. It was precisely with this in mind that we established a number of structures at local level as part of the programme of local government renewal to enable local communities to make their input into policies, plans and programmes which affect their areas.

County and City Development Boards, led by local government, were set up in each county and city to bring about the more co-ordinated delivery of public services at local level. The Boards bring all the players together locally – the public sector agencies, the social partners, local government and local development bodies to co-operate and plan together for the good of their communities. I am delighted to acknowledge that here in Donegal, the County Development Board has been very pro-active in driving this joined-up approach to public service delivery.

I welcome your commitment and active involvement in the work of the CDBs to date. In acknowledgement of the key role played by town councillors on the Boards, the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, delivered on a commitment to increase the representation of town councils on CDBs. You, as elected members, have an acute sense of the social and economic changes affecting local areas right across the country. In recent years these changes have been profound. Your knowledge is finely tuned from your direct contact with the people as you listen first-hand to their needs and concerns. You’ll also be aware that the challenges we face are complex and require local government to work with others, including community groups to plan and implement suitable responses.

Another challenge for local government and which needs attention from us all is litter pollution and the management of waste. It’s fair to say that the waste management regime in Ireland has been transformed in recent years. Until relatively recently, we were almost solely reliant on landfill to deal with waste. Now, there is more and more evidence of our becoming a Recycling Society.
We see it at home as more and more of us are separating our waste. We see it in the community with the increased use of recycling centres and bring banks. And we see it confirmed in documents like the recently published Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s National Waste Report 2004.

The figures speak for themselves:

• the recovery rate for household and commercial waste was at nearly 34% - to put that in perspective, we were at 9% in 1998. Our 2013 target of 35% is now well within our grasp;
• the use of landfill has fallen over the last four years by about 9%;
• packaging waste recovery and recycling reached 56% in 2004 – exceeding the EU target of 50% a year in advance;
• we now have 1,929 bring banks and 69 civic amenity sites; and
• more households than ever before have segregated waste collection services for dry recyclables.

This is all evidence of the Recycling Society.

There are other issues to tackle. While recycling rates have risen to levels we could hardly have believed just a few short years ago, we still have to make more progress on diverting waste from landfill, particularly biodegradable waste. For householders and small businesses this typically means organic kitchen and garden waste as well as paper and wood. In simple terms, the Recycling Society must add composting to its list of skills in the years ahead.

Councillors will need no reminding of the crucial importance of enforcement by local authorities in the area of waste management. We cannot allow people who have no regard for our environment, no regard for their fellow citizens and no regard for the law of the land to profit from practices such as illegal dumping. In some cases, the clean up costs for illegal dumping can fall back on the local authority, reducing the resources that are available for other priorities. Enforcement is a vital activity if we are to build further on our success to date.

The Government policy on waste is based, on the internationally acknowledged waste hierarchy. The primary focus must be on prevention and minimisation. The best way to deal with waste is to generate as little as possible in the first place.
Reuse and recycling are the next best options followed by other technologies such as waste to energy with landfill as the least environmentally friendly option. Make no mistake. Even if we are successful with all our strategies for reducing, recycling and composting, Ireland will need infrastructure such as thermal treatment facilities to meet EU targets for diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill.

Moving from low environmental standards to proper waste management systems has been, and continues to be, a real challenge. Substantial progress has been made. Councillors have been to the fore in supporting and driving many of these changes. I know you will continue to support the continuing process of change, of higher standards and a better environment for all.

On that note, Mr. President, I will conclude by wishing you all a continuing successful conference here in Letterkenny. I hope you have an enjoyable and productive weekend here and a safe journey home.

Ends