I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to call in the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. There is a considerable amount to say and I think some other Senators will support me. Last week's "Prime Time" programme contained a very good report on the situation in Portlaoise. Senator John Whelan has worked hard on this issue and I congratulate him. For 15 years the residents around the Enva plant in Portlaoise have suffered from the effects of noxious fumes. They are powerless, as is Senator John Whelan, to have anything done about it.

Members will know from the debate on the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill last summer that we tried to table an amendment to it to raise the issue of the immunity that protects the EPA under section 15 of the Act, which indemnifies the director general, other directors and authorised persons against legal action. The residents living in the vicinity of that plant have been trying to get their voices heard for 15 years, but such immunity protects the group which controls the environment. We are discussing the issue of flooding, but air quality is becoming an issue we must think about every day. We must make a huge commitment to the environment from here on. It ranks high up there with jobs and health because we are talking about the future of the health of the population and the future of the country for future generations. We can no longer ignore the environment. The Minister must intervene.

During the past five years as a Member of this House, I have represented a group in the case of the Aughinish plant. There is a nightmare scenario at that location. Since the plant has been in operation, there has been much pollution, ill health and animal ill health and farms have had to be closed in the area. This started in the early 1990s. The EPA commissioned a report in 1996 that cost the taxpayer €5 million-----

A cover-up.

-----yet nothing has been done, but everyone who works high up in the EPA enjoys total immunity. This has to stop. The Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, in her closing speech to the debate on the Bill, stated: "I can assure and inform Senator O'Brien that the Minister has confirmed to me that the Department will expedite the completion of the current review and a comprehensive report on this subject will be presented before the Houses of the Oireachtas within 90 days." Ninety days from the commencement of that Act was 4 November 2015 and today is 13 January 2016. I received a letter from the Minister of State's Department on 30 November stating final edits to the draft report were being made and that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, would be reviewing it in the coming days. The Minister needs to come in to the House and lay the report before us. The issue of why the EPA has such immunity needs to be raised in order that we can have legal conversations, if necessary, about it.

I express our support for the many families who are in very difficult situations having been impacted on by the appalling floods over the Christmas period. Many families continue to suffer in parts of the country, including in parts of County Galway. The emergency services, particularly the local authorities, the Red Cross, the Army and the Garda, did amazing work in helping communities. They went above and beyond the call of duty and they were stretched, physically and mentally, as were many of the householders and landowners who were experiencing very difficult times.

As the waters subside, our attention must turn to putting solutions in place that will reduce the risk of flooding in the future. Senator Darragh O'Brien referred to the catchment flood risk assessment and management, CFRAM, study. I have a much more positive story to relate about the study, the OPW and Galway County Council. We had a fine gathering in Ballinasloe on Monday. It was the second such meeting to have taken place, the first one having been held in February, where five options were rolled out for comment by the local communities. Up to 100 people from Ballinasloe and the surrounding areas attended that meeting and they will come back in May or June with the preferred options for solving the problem in the Ballinasloe area.

With respect to the sum of €430 million the Government has allocated for the next six years, it is imperative that the deadlines for completing the CFRAM studies are met in prioritising projects and that the investment in the worst impacted areas take place as quickly as possible. The small schemes projects is a fine programme organised through the council councils. It is important that adequate funding be made available to ensure these schemes proceed quickly. It is welcome that €18 million has been provided for local authorities for a big clean-up, but much damage has been caused to roads throughout rural Ireland.

It is important that county councils quantify the damage as quickly as possible and inform the Department and that the Government then make funding available to repair roads as quickly as possible in order that a semblance of normality can be restored to rural Ireland.

I join in the happy new year wishes expressed by other Members and the congratulations offered to Mr. Peter Finnegan. I also congratulate Ms Maria Louise Fufezan and Ms Diana Bura who won the BT Young Scientist of the Year award last week with a project on enzymes in animal foods. They attend Loreto College in Balbriggan. The event was a huge success and, as Senator Ivana Bacik said, will feed into our discussion later on Innovation 2020.

I welcome the announcement yesterday of the development of a €1.5 million radio astronomy facility at Birr Castle. There is a significant tradition of astronomy and science in general among the Parsons family who own the castle and the future of that tradition is assured. This will also feed into the discussion on Innovation 2020.

Like the Cathaoirleach, I welcome Mr. George Hamilton to the House. He played the cello in Methodist College, Belfast, which suits him as he presents "Hamilton Scores" every Saturday and Sunday. He also studied modern languages at Queen's University Belfast, which means that he can pronounce all of those unpronounceable names of foreign footballers. His educational career suited him well for his two current posts. A tribute has been paid to him but because he was in Genoa at the time, he may not know about it. During the famous penalty shoot-out following two hours and 42 minutes of football the Taoiseach of the day, the late Mr. Haughey, suspended a press conference in Dublin Castle to mark the end of Ireland's EU Presidency because everybody wanted to see Packie Bonner and David O'Leary and hear George. We all wanted to hear a memorable phrase and his was, "The nation holds its breath." He is welcome.

The nation holds its breath and people in Portlaoise, in particular, are holding theirs. I commend colleagues who have approached this issue in a non-partisan, apolitical way because it is not only about pollution but also about public health. Our time in this Seanad is running out and it is time for action because the time for reports is over. We need answers to establish why the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, behaves as a lazy, lax, limp and lame lapdog instead of as a watchdog in the public interest. No one watching Mark Coughlan's report on "Prime Time" last Thursday night could have had a scintilla of confidence in the so-called Environmental Protection Agency. I do not and those at the top, including the director of environmental enforcement and the director general, should step aside if they have any respect for their jobs or the organisation they purport to represent. The programme was a great example of public service broadcasting, but it should not have taken the perseverance of the journalist to bring this issue into public view.

We first tabled motions on the issue in the House two years ago when Mr. Phil Hogan was Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Three reports were ordered by him and his successor, but on each occasion, the EPA came back stating, "There is nothing to see here. Everything is squeaky clean. You can sleep easy in your beds." The people of Portlaoise are not sleeping easy in their beds. One does not need to have won an award at the young scientist exhibition last week or to be a rocket scientist to know that if one boils oil at 80, 90 or 100 degrees, the toxins and carcinogens emitted will not good for people's health. This is wrong; it is a scandal and needs to be addressed. It needs to be stopped. We have a responsibility in that regard. I commend the Leader for running on orderly and good House. He has facilitated us previously by bringing in Ministers on umpteen occasions to address this issue, but the EPA continues to dodge and duck and fail to answer the question. It has failed to do its job and protect the public interest.

Is the Senator seconding the amendment proposed?

I am not in a position to second it.