Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. Was there any consultation with the Minister prior to Bord na Móna taking the decision that it proposed to sell off the recycling business? The potential sale of the last public waste company flies in the face of all the latest expert opinion. I come from a place where all of the public waste collection companies were sold over the past 20 or 30 years. Can anybody say this has been a success? There have been recommendations from the Government's own Dublin task force, but rather than further entrenching a dysfunctional, privatised model, which has a history of being bad for workers, customers and the environment, as can be seen in the increase in fly-tipping over the past 20 years, we should follow international best practice and move back towards more public ownership. It is within the Minister's gift to stop the sale. We met representatives from SIPTU last week who said there were serious risks to Bord na Móna Recycling. Nothing is guaranteed for the workers, not their working conditions, pensions or even their jobs. That is their concern and I am sure the Minister is aware of that. Bord na Móna makes massive profits. Will the Minister intervene to halt this sale?

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