Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Circular Economy as it relates to Consumer Durables: Discussion

Mr. Niall McLoughlin:

I would like to reiterate the point that was made previously in terms of any potential increases in the cost of the product that might be arriving in Ireland, the repairability and durability aspect of the improved product that is being made available to people, which supports what we are talking about in terms of resource efficiency and reuse and recycling and, ultimately, what we are talking about here, which is repair. I think we are all confident that this will ultimately save consumers money because of the fact that they will not have to replace that product as quickly as they might otherwise have had to. We all know there are a number of barriers to repair in Ireland, and cost is certainly one of them. The better the quality and repairability of the product that is coming, however, the quality and durability will mean it will actually require less maintenance than the previous product. From our perspective, therefore, it is certainly a win-win scenario.