Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have a question on incineration which I meant to ask in the first round. Will there be something in head 1 that excludes incineration from the recovery wording? They are sometimes or often synonymous.

I am really interested in the whole idea of the sharing economy. There is a place in Galway that I have used previously to get bunting and gazebos, which are shared. If there is a big event coming up on a particular day, we do not necessarily want every community group purchasing a gazebo. It works pretty well from a cost point of view and it obviously extends the life of all of those things. I also know of sharing apps that are consumer driven and libraries are obviously the ultimate in a sharing economy. Are there any plans to expand on the idea of a sharing economy? I might have a shovel and then there is no need for anyone else in Highfield Park to have one because there are only so many hours in a day that anyone will be digging holes. I have been interested in the sharing economy for many years but it needs real backing and it needs the numbers to make it work.

I asked a question in the first round about VAT. Deputy Bruton spoke about tax incentives and said that regulations often make it difficult to reuse or upcycle things, like standards for toys, for example. I have spoken to people at An Mheitheal Rothar in Galway, who recently received more funding for bike repair in the context of social innovation but from an economic point of view, it is very difficult. They have to purchase parts to enable them to upcycle an old bike into a new one and it is difficult to make the sums add up when they are paying VAT on those parts, not to mention the amount of hours involved. How do we ensure that it is economically viable for people to upcycle?

My last point is around obsolescence. I understand that it is being looked at in Europe and I understand why. We are a small economy with limited purchasing power. Is there engagement between the Department and Europe so that we can have our voices heard, over and above our MEPs? One of the key issues around obsolescence is the length of a warranty. Objects become obsolete at the end of the warranty so if warranties could be extended, that could really help.