Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is important to point out that, as the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, I have no role or remit in the decision made by An Bord Pleanála today, nor do I have any role in planning policy or planning legislation. I am advised by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government that An Bord Pleanála is independent in discharging its functions under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Furthermore, section 30 of the Act provides that the Minster for Housing, Planning and Local Government shall not exercise any power or control in respect of any case with which the board is or may be concerned other than in specified circumstances that do not apply in this case.

My role as Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment in waste management is to provide a comprehensive legislative and policy framework through which the relevant regulatory bodies, such as local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, operate. Our national waste policy is predicated on and consistent with European Union waste policy, which has the waste hierarchy as its cornerstone. Under the waste hierarchy, the prevention, preparation for reuse, recycling and recovery of waste is preferred to the disposal or landfill of waste.

In Ireland, Deputies will be aware that waste management planning, including with regard to infrastructure provision, is the responsibility of local authorities under the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. Furthermore, under section 60(3) of that Act, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in respect of the performance, in specific cases, by a local authority of its statutory functions under the Act.

The local authority sector has met its waste planning obligations through the development and delivery of regional waste management plans by the three regional waste management offices. The most recent iteration of regional waste management plans sets out how waste generated will be managed over the period from 2015 to 2021, which is in line with national and EU waste management policy, and supports the development of up to 300,000 tonnes of additional thermal recovery capacity nationally, which includes waste to energy, out to 2030. This figure was determined to ensure in the first instance adequate and competitive treatment capacity in the market and, second, that the State's self-sufficiency requirements for the recovery of municipal waste are met. The plans also reflect the move away from landfilling because it is the least desirable method of managing waste. Furthermore, that level of thermal recovery capacity takes account of the requirement to achieve a recycling rate of municipal waste in excess of 60% by 2030, which is in line with one of the new EU recycling targets.

The three regional waste management plans have a headline target for the prevention and recycling of waste. Good waste management planning aims to maximise prevention and recycling and minimise the quantity of residual waste arising. It also recognises the need for sustainable infrastructure to deal with residual waste as we move away from the less sustainable practice of landfilling.

As the Deputy knows, the House had a protracted debate in or around this time last year on the issue of flat-rate bin charges. I made the point then that the objective was, first, to discourage the generation of waste and, second, the segregation of waste into brown and recycling bins. I am still determined to do that.

A question on levies was asked during Question Time. I am currently reviewing all levies. My priority is to encourage the prevention of waste or, where that is not possible, its recycling as opposed to other methods. We must ensure that it is only as a last resort that waste goes into one of our four landfills, a number that will have decreased to three by the end of this year.

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