John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree with the Minister on recycling but his answer is interesting insofar as it revealed the fact that only a small number of people changed from one supplier to another. That indicates a lack of competition in the market. It also indicates a lack of transparency. If one goes onto the websites of various waste management companies to try to work out what the costs of moving would be, it is very difficult to do so.

The Minister has a role in this. He indicated that when people did change, savings were minimal. Closeness in pricing structures makes it a cartel-type operation, rather than a competitive environment. I fully support moving away from landfill but I do not see competition in the market and consumers deserve protection, which is lacking at the moment.

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