Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

The determination of waste management charges is primarily a matter for the local authorities or private operators where such operators are involved in the provision of a waste collection service. However, my Department is focusing its efforts on reducing all costs to business, including waste costs, to enhance the competitiveness of companies in Ireland.

The National Competitiveness Council, NCC, published two reports in July which act as useful benchmarks for analysing business costs in Ireland, the Cost of Doing Business in Ireland and the Annual Competitiveness Report 2010: Volume 1, Benchmarking Ireland's Performance. Both of these reports found that, overall, Ireland has regained some of its competitiveness since 2008 as a result of a fall in price and cost levels relative to our main trading partners.

The benchmarking report found that in 2008 Ireland was the most expensive of the locations benchmarked for waste costs, although costs in Ireland vary significantly by local authority. However, the NCC also reported that market prices have fallen significantly recently due to the recession. This finding is underpinned by Forfás's latest benchmarking report on waste management which was published on 6 October.

Waste policy overall is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, who recently invited submissions on a draft statement of waste policy. The enterprise development agencies under the aegis of my Department, namely, IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Forfás, made a joint submission with a view to ensuring that optimal solutions for waste management are available for companies operating in Ireland on a competitive cost basis when compared with our trading and investment competitor countries.

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