Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Brennan for her presentation and welcome what she is doing. In particular, I welcome her emphasis on the fact that the circular economy is not an offshoot or sideshoot of the waste debate. That is an important point and I would be interested to hear just how central she believes that should be. The circular economy embraces issues such as climate change and biodiversity, as well as end-of-life and other issues. It should be the central spine of a lot of our attempts to make our approaches more sustainable. In that context, what does she mean by "regulatory certainty"? Some people feel that, as regards regulating materials, repairability and end-of-life obligations, we do not know the regulatory impact yet. How can regulatory certainty be provided in a relatively underdeveloped world, particularly when getting into individual sectors? A lot of work has been done around food but maybe not in other sectors.

Does Dr. Brennan believe the Bill should go beyond just stating that we need a strategy for the circular economy? Should it put some sort of obligation on sectors to assess design principles and packaging principles and oblige the public sector to adopt and apply public procurement principles, or at this stage, as the Bill is now drafted, should it be left in general terms to evolve over time? I would also be interested in her comments on the issue of targets. The Bill makes provision for the introduction of reduce and repair targets. Does her organisation have views on what shape such targets should take? In respect of the use of a fund under this legislation, does she think the best way to proceed is by way of competitive calls and letting the best idea win, or should more structured grant schemes, sports schemes and so on be considered?