Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Local authorities are responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. It is open to any local authority to re-enter the waste collection market as direct service providers if it so chooses, either alongside existing permitted service providers or subject to making arrangements to replace those providers. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996, as Minister, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory function vested in it.

The section on gov.ieon the structure of the household waste collection market gives an analysis of the impacts of moving from side-by-side competition to a franchise market structure. It should be noted this study does not take account of the costs associated with local authorities acquiring existing customer share or those associated with investing in the necessary collection infrastructure or staff costs.

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