Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is all right. I will send the Deputy some membership forms. The transfer season might be open soon.

The circular economy Bill moves in the right direction. It contains measures which move us away from the idea of take, make, waste, which follows a slavish idea of GDP and economic throughput as being the good we always chase after. It is moving us towards a more circular economy model. It will fit well with the move towards well-being budgeting. The two things will sit well together and it is to be hoped we will begin to move away from the slavish pursuit of GDP growth.

It is welcome that we have alignment with the rest of the EU because the European Commission today announced the circular economy action plan which proposes new regulations to make almost all physical goods more sustainable and energy efficient throughout their life cycle. The regulations will impact all aspects of that life cycle through design, usage, repurposing and disposal of products. We are seeing two facets of government at a national and European level beginning to work together to move us somewhat in the right direction.

I echo the comments of Deputy Stanley. One thing I particularly welcome is that local authorities will be empowered to use GDPR compliance technologies such as CCTV and drones to protect detect and prevent unsightly and illegal dumping and littering. I disagree with Deputy Smith on this point. It was used extremely effectively in Waterford. Many extremely scenic areas are unfortunately blighted by illegal dumping and fly-tipping. In 2020, Waterford City and County Council was officially reprimanded by the Data Protection Commissioner for its use of CCTV, one of seven local authorities to be so reprimanded.

Technology makes a big difference. There are areas in the county which are difficult for local authority council staff to access. CCTV and drone technology was being used very effectively in order to fight fly-tipping. I welcome that section 14A and the new section 14B will allow for mobile recording devices for preventing, investigating, detecting and prosecuting offences under the 1996 Act. It is timely and a step in the right direction. It is only a small measure in a larger Bill, but it will make a difference to people on the ground. There are other measures in the Bill which are extremely welcome. I commend the Minister of State on bringing it to the House.

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