Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before we start the second round I have some questions. The heads of the Bill the Department have brought forward present a huge opportunity to transform the consumer culture that has got us to where we are at the moment and the amount of waste that we see. As Senator Boylan said, it is a huge opportunity to clean up our oceans and clean up our countryside, about which we are all very passionate. It could also give value for money to the consumer in how we do things. We must focus on the potential positives of what these heads of Bill provide and eventually in having a circular economy Bill enacted, which is great. The next weeks and months will be about trying to ensure that it is robust.

Some of my questions might apply more to a circular economy strategy than the legislation itself. If we could touch on it, however, it would be great. On the types of projects that could be funded by the circular economy fund, I believe that anaerobic digestion does not get enough attention. It does not get talked about enough and we do not debate it enough. I often wonder why it is something we often seem to steer clear of. If we are talking about reducing waste, about reusing by-products in a better way and about decarbonising a sector such as agriculture, then fundamentally anaerobic digestion surely has a part to play.

The members are probably bored of me telling my story of visiting an anaerobic digestion facility in west Cork. What I saw and what was presented to me provides a lot of solutions around the disposal of agricultural waste in particular. It was almost a co-operative style set up where the local piggeries, the poultry farm, and the local distillery brought waste to this anaerobic digester. They were getting energy from this, which is almost a renewable energy, and an environmentally-friendly fertiliser to be sprayed on the land. As part of that going forward, do we have a strategy for anaerobic digestion? We have seen the success of this in Europe. I understand the concern that we do not want to have a situation where crops and products are being grown specifically for anaerobic digestion. Can we have a strategy for anaerobic digestion? Can this be included in a circular economy fund?