Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will answer the Chairman's question first. There is a certain lead-in time required for projects of this nature. Budgeting and procurement usually take place in the first half of the year. As site work can only take place in favourable weather conditions, it is expected that the main part of the expenditure from this allocation will happen in the second half of the year.

The household waste collection price monitoring group has been established and had its first meeting on 13 September. A company has also begun the process of monitoring the rates charged by household waste collectors. The company will report back to the monitoring group on a monthly basis and the results will be published. They will be monitored and analysed and will provide an evidence base in the context of future monitoring or additional regulation of the waste market. I have asked the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, to carry out a study of the operation of the household waste collection market. We have been working very closely with the CCPC in relation to the price monitoring group and the study it will carry out. The decision was taken by the CCPC to focus on the study of the operation of the household waste collection market, which is why it decided not to be directly involved in the price monitoring group. However, the evidence collected from the price monitoring group will feed into the overall study under way which the CCPC expects to finish early in 2018. The study will assess the nature and scale of consumer and operator issues in the household waste collection market and consider if the introduction of an enhanced regulatory regime could efficiently address these issues in the short and longer term. It will include research on current issues in the waste sector, an economic assessment of the household waste collection market and an overview of the waste collection systems in other countries and make recommendations to me. That is the role of the CCPC.

On the powers available to me, it is a competitive market. The powers are actually with the local authorities rather than me, as Minister. If, based on the aforementioned study and the work of the price monitoring group, there is a requirement to change the regulations in this area, we can look at doing so.

On the broader issue of illegal dumping, I have said on numerous occasions that I believe it is both economic and environmental treason. It has a huge impact on communities and areas all over the country. As Deputy Brian Stanley knows, Senator Catherine Ardagh's Bill has completed Second Stage in the Seanad. We also have Deputy Eamon Ryan's Bill which has been discussed by this committee, as well as the Deputy's own Bill. There is a myriad of Bills, but I want to see progress in dealing with the issues of illegal dumping, the generation of waste and how we dispose of our waste. I am quite willing to engage constructively with the committee in that regard. We can deal with this issue in a piecemeal fashion, with one Member after the other bringing forward Private Members' Bills, or we can deal with it in a comprehensive manner.

I am on record as saying that I am open to any constructive suggestions coming from any side of the House in relation to this, whether from Deputy Stanley, Deputy Eamon Ryan-----