Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is regrettable that no representatives from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are attending this session but they will, I hope, appear before the committee on this theme in the near future. The Acting Chairman might note that we have requested them to attend again.

I am very excited by the circular economy, probably to my wife's consternation. I am an enthusiastic upcycler and I see great opportunities for it, especially in rural Ireland. We will have a very significant opportunity if we get this right, but it is important that there be a key role for local authorities. Going back in time, 20 or 30 years ago, the management and collection of waste function was given up by all local authorities but that is an important space for them to get back into, not least in the context of the circular economy, which is very important at the moment. The vast majority of counties have no opportunity to upcycle paint waste, most of which is poured either down the toilet or directly into sewers. We need to stop that, and the only way of doing so is to have a dedicated circular economy facility within every two counties, if not within each county. The Employment, Development and Information, EDI, Centre, Longford is enthusiastic about this and has ambitious plans for it, but it is important local authorities be mandated to come on board and to support it with enthusiasm. The Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 is very important work, and while there is more to be done on it, it is breakthrough legislation that will, I hope, come to fruition later this year.

I am delighted to have our guests from SEAI in attendance, and in particular Mr. Meally, given we like to see Longford people in key positions. Only last week, Ms Caron McCaffrey appeared before the Joint Committee on Justice. Coincidentally, if Mr. Meally’s parents look out their window, they can see Caron's office in the Irish Prison Service, so it is great to have him here. We are very proud of the work Mr. Meally has done with SEAI. He and his staff have put in Herculean shifts. We are very much in the avant-garde compared with what is being done in Europe, and that came across during his presentation. We are leading the way in many respects in this area. Of course, we will always look for more, and we are here to challenge the SEAI to do more.

Turning to a couple of issues on the periphery, there is a backlog of getting applications and so on through the SEAI. Will our guests speak to the measures they have taken to address that? Can they give me any comfort in regard to what I can say when Mrs. Duignan rings me next week to complain about the length of time she has been waiting?