Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and the Department for bringing this important Bill to the Oireachtas. I also want to single out the contribution of Deputy Bruton. When the Committee on Environment and Climate Action first convened over 18 months ago, he led on waste and the circular economy and he had a real passion. He was passionate about it, he wanted to contribute and he contributed in a big way. In particular during pre-legislative scrutiny there were some great debates and lines of questioning so I want to single out his role in that regard.

This Bill is timely for many reasons. We have spoken a lot about the climate crisis but we are now also in the midst of an energy crisis. This Bill is closely linked and intertwined with the energy crisis in this linear economy and approach we have had so far. There is the simple example of one plastic bottle or one plastic cup and the amount of energy and resources that go into making that one item and then it gets one use and is disposed of. That is a completely inefficient and wasteful use of energy. The concept of changing that model is so important. That plastic bottle could go on to become a T-shirt and that T-shirt could go on to become a mattress and so on and so forth.

It is an important concept. The energy that went into making that plastic now becomes more purposeful. In the midst of an energy crisis, with soaring costs, we have to think about doing things differently and being more efficient with how we use our energy. We have to model it on the natural cycle that we see in nature, where an animal eats a blade of grass, which is then eaten by another predator, which eventually dies and decomposes into the earth. It is simple, but it is how nature works and what we need to follow.

The legislation is timely since, for decades, our oceans have been a dumping ground. There are scary statistics, with 12.7 million tonnes of plastic being dumped into our oceans each year. The use of our oceans as a dumping ground is disgusting. That needs to stop. When this legislation has passed, it needs to reflect that, because that dumping has a huge impact on human health and wildlife. One million seabirds and about 100,000 mammals die from ingesting plastic every year. That is relevant to us here in Ireland. The Irish coast, from the inshore right out to the Porcupine Shelf and Porcupine Seabight, is one of the richest and most diverse ecosystems on the planet, with a variety of cetaceans, fish and wildlife. That wildlife is being stranded and washed ashore in increasing numbers with evidence of having digested plastic. A main motivator for people to reduce plastic is the fact that this is ending up in their digestive system.

This Bill has to be a key part in reducing the amount of plastic that we use and therefore reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in our oceans. The levies that are being introduced are an important part of that. They make absolute sense. It is easy to defend the introduction of the levy to discourage the use of single use cups and to bring a reusable coffee cup instead wherever one goes. I know there were concerns regarding Covid and people banned the use of keep cups. We have seen the science of that change and it is now seen as a safe way to get one's coffee. I encourage everyone to do that and to cut back on the use of disposable coffee cups. This Bill will achieve that through this levy, as well as the levies on other wasteful products.

I would like to see stronger legislation regarding microplastics, which are talked about frequently. They are still not discouraged enough and they still exist. They are one of the most harmful forms of pollution, particularly of our oceans, because it is so easy for them to get into water and out into the oceans. There was a good discussion during pre-legislative scrutiny, which I know Deputy Bruton spoke about, on putting an onus to address this on companies, especially big industry. It is much harder for micro and small businesses to make those changes. We need to see big industries drive towards making products for a circular economy, with multiple uses always being in the background. The legislation needs to be strengthened if possible. I look forward to having an opportunity to make amendments on Committee Stage. I hope that amendments which make sense will be entertained and potentially included.

The inclusion of legislation regarding CCTV is one of the most exciting parts of this Bill. Many people in this House have come up through the ranks of local authorities. One of the scourges of both rural and urban areas, for example in beauty and tourist spots of west Cork with rich biodiversity, is the blight of dumping of mattresses, couches, washing machines and rubbish in general. It is disgusting and I see the use of CCTV as a key in discouraging that. I urge all local authorities to take it up in a big way.

Local authorities have to be more proactive on the environment, the circular economy and the reduction of waste. Getting local authorities to install drinking fountains is like pulling teeth. If people want to bring their own water bottles, which we see much more of, they should have stations to fill up. It is a simple principle, but trying to get local authorities to install these systems in towns around Ireland is like pulling teeth. It is similar to the issue with EV chargers, which we should have rolled out on a far bigger scale, but local authorities are reluctant to do that, even in cases where communities have come together to purchase an EV charger. That needs to change.

One matter I would like to see in this legislation is not spoken about. If it belongs in other legislation, that is fine, but we need to find room for it. We need a policy on anaerobic digestion. It is fundamental to helping with the energy crisis and with decarbonising agriculture. We have heard about the contribution of agriculture to greenhouse gas emissions. It is a large emitter, but the industry and the sector want to change and to be part of the solution, which we have seen in the climate action plan. Anaerobic digestion is key. The philosophy of having a co-operative approach to the disposal of waste, whether it is from a piggery, chicken farm, beef farm or local distillery with grain waste, involves having a ready-made place to bring waste to, which then generates energy. It has gone down well in my home town, Timoleague, and there has not been any conflict with the local community. It generates enough energy to power a town of 1,000 people. The red tape and obstacles put in the way of someone who wants to start up an anaerobic digester are excessive. I understand the potential pitfalls. We do not want to see crops being specifically grown for an anaerobic digester, but we have waste, and the best thing for emissions is for the waste product to be a low-emission slurry to be spread over the land. I would love for this to be considered for inclusion in the Bill and, if not in this Bill, then in other legislation.

There is a fantastic group in west Cork called Cycle Sense. It has a unit in Skibbereen and invites people to bring used, broken-down bicycles to the unit. It repurposes and fixes them, so there are then fantastic bicycles to use again. It is a perfect example of the circular economy and what we should encourage throughout our land.

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