Mr. Niall McLoughlin:

I thank the Deputy. I will touch briefly on the point he made about liability. Research has demonstrated that there are concerns with regard to electrical equipment in particular. The learned experience shows that repaired and refurbished items might not work properly or might fail after a short time. In response, one of the projects funded under the circular economy innovation grant scheme was in association with Community Resources Network Ireland. We introduced the reuse quality mark of excellence, ReMark, with the objective of strengthening consumer confidence in reused goods and services. A good pilot was run to which Dr. Miller and I might speak a little later.

The Deputy asked about the involvement of social enterprise or community groups, etc., with local authorities and community facilities, particularly in the context of the recycling network we have. There are a number of different issues. Local authorities partner with social and community groups across the country on every area of recycling, reuse and reparability, including through supporting repair cafés and community toy-sharing projects. A range of initiatives is going on. Where we are falling short in comparison with our colleagues in Denmark is in respect of our infrastructure at local level. We must examine whether that infrastructure is at the optimum level to support reuse and repair activity. A civic amenity facility may not have appropriate coverage or the appropriate receptacles that would optimise the electrical equipment or consumer durables deposited at the facility. If that infrastructure is not up to scratch, we have lost an opportunity to use what we have arriving at our sites and have lost the opportunity to engage further with local organisations. In that regard, a review of civic amenity, CA, sites was undertaken a number of years ago and the report has been under consideration by the County and City Management Association, CCMA, for some time. We are engaging directly with the CCMA and the national waste management planning offices about a review of that infrastructure to make the CA sites circular economy hot spots or hubs, if you like, whereby the material left there is able to be used. There may be legislative barriers to leaving material in such areas because when it is brought to a CA site, it becomes waste. We will have to consider the mechanisms available to us to change that. The review is ongoing and intensifying. We want to see that reflected in the circular economy strategy, which will come out later this year.

The waste management plans have a new target of 20 kg of reuse per person for the future.

That is a huge gap that we have to bridge. Our infrastructure will have to play a key role in that.