Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I agree with the broader strategy of incentivising recycling and separation of waste. The country has made extraordinary progress in those areas over the past 25 years and that needs to be acknowledged. Sometimes we tend to have a negative self-perception of the country; actually, it has made extraordinary progress on a number of fronts in the past two decades.

On the council, I am open to different options in respect of the collection of waste. A noticeable development in recent decades has been the decline in landfill and in the necessity for landfill. Transitioning from a private sector arrangement to a State-sector arrangement in its entirety is easier said than done. That would need to be analysed carefully and in a considered manner.

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