Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their engagement with the committee. On procurement, one of the first things we need to get right is the requirement to include quality criteria. Both price and quality must be considered, rather than the approach of only going after the lowest price as the first choice. I must express an interest in this regard in that I have brought forward legislation pushing for the price-quality ratio approach and the insertion of quality criteria. Having quality criteria will allow us not only to set minimum standards but to award bidders who go above and beyond in taking the standards further than what we might look to as a minimum.

I am particularly interested in the health and food consumption area. One of the key issues that arises in this regard is hygiene and sterilisation. I have heard interesting things about industrial washing and other alternatives to intensive packaging in terms of the sterile requirement in the health area. There are areas of health plastics need, such as in the disability sector, which are ongoing and will continue. In both food and health, there is a heavy reliance on plastic packaging for reasons of sterile assurance.

I was struck by what the witnesses said about industrial washing. In terms of the service coming to Ireland, and looking to services that are operating elsewhere, how can we ensure such services are just not just available on contract to large-scale manufacturers of particular items - milk and water were mentioned - but are also accessible on a small scale? I am thinking, for example, of the local food shop that wants to recycle the juice bottles it sells every day, usually to the same customers. The packaging of that kind of takeaway food could be replaced by something that can be sterilised and reused. I am very interested in any supplementary information the witnesses might have on industrial washing.

Much of the focus in these discussions tends to be on the waste aspect but I want to roll it back to the production side. The key point in this regard relates to the question of obsolescence and irresponsible production. Mr. Schweitzer mentioned in his presentation that Italy has successfully fined a company for breaches in this area. While there has been a difficulty with the definitions in France, it would be useful to hear how it worked out in Italy and what we can learn from that. I would also like to hear his thoughts on how we can get a measure like a restriction on obsolescence right. If there is too much of a bar to prove bad intent, do we instead need to look at something like, where we are systematically seeing a product that is reaching the end of its user life after two or three years, that would be a signal? If companies are complained to a certain number of times about the same flaw in a design product and they do not respond, does that become evidence of a failure to address obsolescence? I am trying to see how we might deal with that aspect, because it is key.

Another area that is crucial is our consumption of precious minerals and resources. When we look to the other end of the value chain, the damage done in terms of mineral extraction is immense. There are aspects of mineral extraction referred to in the Bill. Do we need an extra level, such as a disincentive relating to reckless or excessive use of the kinds of minerals and other things that are going into our microchips and so forth? Currently, the European Union seems to be heavily weighted towards a focus on the waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEE, directive, which applies to white goods and electrical disposables recycling. Facilities for the disposals of such products are available right across Ireland. However, this approach is very much about products that reach the end of their working life in somebody's kitchen and are then sent straight to recycling. Is there potential to use that existing infrastructure to insert greater monitoring of obsolescence where it is observed, for instance, that too many of the same items are turning up? Is there scope for further repair or reuse incentives to be incorporated into the system? There might be a need for a much higher levy on the excessive use of minerals that are extracted. I would appreciate the witnesses' thoughts on that.