Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and I know he is very committed to reforming the whole waste industry. We need to move very quickly because, unfortunately, there are cowboys operating in the market and this is giving a very bad reputation to the waste industry. There are many responsible waste management companies which are customer friendly and abide by good practice. They charge only on what people actually put out instead of making people prepay, they encourage recycling and they work for a better industry. However, while I believe by far the majority want to develop a sustainable industry, this is being greatly undermined by what is happening, particularly in our capital city. People are being incentivised not to recycle because they are being overcharged for recycling.

I ask the Minister to move as quickly as possible to put regulations and legislation in place. I look forward to the issue coming before the committee. At present in our cities, the local authorities can put in place by-laws stating when the citizen can place a bin on the street but they cannot make a by-law to force companies to collect within those hours. What is happening currently in the capital is that while residents have to put their bins out by 7 a.m. and they are to be collected by 7 p.m., some of these cowboys do not collect them that day and instead collect them the following day, so there are bins on the streets for two days.

This is unacceptable in a capital city. We need to empower local authorities so they can take action, and we have to do it from this House. We have to give them the powers to bring in the by-laws and the legislation. I believe passionately that we need to move quickly on this issue. If we are reforming local government, we have to ensure the councillors on the ground have the power to regulate and to put in the specifications regarding how these cowboys operate. If we delay too long, the cowboys will have undermined the very good companies which operate to high standards and best practice, and they will go out of business.

I urge the Minister to take action as speedily as possible. I will certainly facilitate him as far as possible through the environment committee and I will give any other assistance I can. Most Members see this happening on a daily basis, from Cork to Dublin to Galway. It is a national issue. These cowboys have to be put out of business. We need strong, firm legislation supported by a regulator. I urge the Minister to move as quickly as he can.

See this speech in context