Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 25:

In page 11, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following:

“Right to Repair

8. (1) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and publish a report examining how a right to repair can be introduced in Ireland.

(2) This report shall examine how the introduction of minimum design requirements, allowing for the easy disassembly and replacement of key components, can assist in giving people a right to repair products.

(3) The report shall also examine whether a Scoring System on Repairability as part of the existing energy label for all energy-consuming products, can be introduced, to inform consumers of the repairability of a product at the point of purchase.”.

On the right to repair, this amendment seeks that the Minister would, within 12 months, prepare and publish a report examining how a right to repair can be introduced in Ireland. We had significant discussions at pre-legislative scrutiny, and there are recommendations in our report. It is a weakness of the Bill that it does not adequately address this. Some of the points were mentioned earlier on, including the definition of circular economy, the need to put on pressure at every stage of the process, including at design stage, which is as important as any stage. The right to repair speaks to that.

We call for a report examining the opportunity that is here. We heard numerous concerns from people operating within that environment in Ireland, be it around insurance or the tax regime. We also call for an examination of a possible scoring system. The Minister of State will be familiar with the arguments around keeping products alive and the other element of product obsolescence. There is huge opportunity to go further here and this is why we propose the amendment.