Vol. 471 No. 5
14 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment the outcome, if any, of his Department's representations to the United Kingdom authorities in relation to the treatment of Irish medical waste in the United Kingdom in view of his responsibility in relation to waste management. [21302/96]
As indicated in the reply to Question No. 139 of 30 October 1996, the response of the UK authorities to the submission made by my Department has been set out in a consultation paper of 28 October 1996, a copy of which is available in the Oireachtas Library. The UK Government proposes, subject to statutory consultation requirements, to agree to the request to permit the continued export to the UK of certain clinical wastes.
What does the Minister of State mean exactly by saying that the UK authorities propose to accept medical waste "subject to statutory consultation requirements"? In view of the fact that the 1 June decision of the UK authorities in relation to medical waste was long signalled by the Department of the Environment in the UK, why did the Department here wait until 4 September to write seeking a derogation for Ireland? Why did the Government then seek disposal facilities in Holland before the UK authorities had even replied to the Department of the Environment?
The UK has agreed that while the statutory consultation incorporated into its plan is in progress, which takes about seven to eight weeks, the continued import of some health care waste is permitted for disposal in incinerators in the UK. The consultation required under statute is not an obstacle to the resolution of this problem which has been resolved satisfactorily. The fact that there is now access at a competitive rate to other countries for such disposal is a positive factor, not a negative one. We all recognise there was a temporary blip concerning this problem but it has now been resolved satisfactorily. Perhaps the Deputy will welcome that.
I welcome the fact that some progress was made because the Minister, the Department and the Government eventually got up off their rear ends and decided they would do something about a problem that I signalled in this House last June. I certainly welcome that but I do not welcome the fact that six months later we are still trying to resolve the problem and have consultations. Can the Minister of State clarify whether the instruction from the Government to make an arrangement with a company called Cara has been met by the health boards? Why was the normal tendering procedure set aside without notice in relation to the appointment of this company?
The Deputy is raising a matter which might appropriately suggest a separate question. The Minister of State wishes to comment, however, although it is distinctly a separate question.
There has been no danger to anyone's health or any environmental danger. The solution has been found and the problem has been resolved. I would like to help the Deputy with regard to the specific query he has made but I am not in a position to do so because it is not part of the question and therefore I do not have a response for him.
