Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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49. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if the waste collection price changes have led to a change in customer behaviour, that is, increased use of the green and brown bins; if this aspect of waste collection is being monitored; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37453/18]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I have been following the reports of the Price Monitoring Group, PMG, on household waste collection. I note it was to finish its work in June but the Minister extended its remit. Was that considering his concerns about the introduction of green bin charges, about which constituents are deeply unhappy, on foot of the decision of China not to accept any more plastic waste? I fiercely opposed the privatisation of the household waste management system but we do not have a regulation system. It is a totally failed system. Householders, certainly in the Dublin region, are very angry about the introduction of this charge, which is sometimes up to €5 extra per collection per month. They believe the Minister has not been prepared to monitor and control the waste management companies, including what they would allege are the many cowboys in this industry.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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In June 2017, in line with commitments set out in A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland, and in the interest of encouraging further waste prevention and greater recycling, the Government decided to phase out flat-rate fees for household waste collection. All waste collection permits were amended by the National Waste Collection Permit Office to require that no flat fees would be charged after 30 September 2018.

Household waste collectors are required to charge fees which respect the waste hierarchy and encourage customers to segregate their waste. The last two months of data from the Price Monitoring Group reported that no flat-rate fees are being offered across the 47 service offerings being monitored.

The Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, is charged with reporting data on waste management. A wide range of waste statistics are available on the EPA website, including national waste reports and data releases containing information on municipal waste, infrastructure, packaging, construction and demolition, and composting and anaerobic digestion of biodegradable waste generated in Ireland. The most recent data indicate that the quantity of biodegradable municipal waste diverted from landfill and sent for composting and anaerobic digestion increased by 19% between 2015 and 2016, from 194,000 tonnes to 231,000 tonnes. It is very important that timely and accurate data on waste are available so that policy decisions on waste can continue to be evidence based.

In this regard, a new national municipal waste characterisation study, which commenced in December 2016, will be completed shortly. The last study was carried out in 2008 and it is anticipated that changes in consumer behaviour, in products placed on the market and changes in waste policies and legislation will have impacted upon the characterisation of municipal waste since 2008.

My Department has also funded the provision of public information to encourage waste prevention and segregation through the regional waste management offices and the Environmental Protection Agency. These initiatives include a national standardised list of items that can go into the recycling bin, available at ; a master recycling programme, in partnership with environmental non-governmental organisations, NGOs, to roll out 650 workshops nationwide; Reuse Month, the annual nationwide campaign in October to promote reuse among householders and businesses; the Stop Food Waste programme, which provides comprehensive information about food that is wasted and how to prevent it to both householders and businesses; and information on how to use the organic bin appropriately, at .

The abolition of flat-rate fees, together with increasing use of compost bins and continuing awareness campaigns funded by my Department, will assist Ireland achieve current and future EU waste targets.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Is the Minister not achieving the direct opposite of what he wanted to achieve? We have an increasing problem in our region of dumping on amenity lands over many of the Dublin constituencies. With the major charges on the green bin, people perceive now that prices are constantly increasing and that the market is dominated by a cartel, a small group of companies. I note, for example, that the Minister's own Price Monitoring Group states that of eight companies that changed their prices, six increased them. I note also that there are about 60 waste management companies, yet the Price Monitoring Group is monitoring approximately 26 of them, which is less than half. Has the Minister given any consideration to having a maximum percentage to ensure that larger monthly costs cannot be imposed on consumers? This is a bit like another part of the Minister's Department, namely, the communications area. For ordinary consumers, tariffs from companies, at least one of which seemed to have its headquarters in the Isle of Man, not in this country, are incredibly complicated and difficult. Inexorably, prices are rising, and that often discourages rather than encourages people to recycle.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The Price Monitoring Group reports have been published on our Department website and they show that there is not price gouging across the sector. In some cases, there have been very marginal increases. In other cases, there have been price reductions. All of that data is being collected by an anonymous shopper who is potentially purchasing these services. It is monitoring across the spectrum of companies that are involved in it.

A separate independent review of our household waste collection system is being carried out by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC. That is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will show a clear reflection of what is happening across the sector. We can all welcome the completion and publication of that review and if policy decisions need to be taken on foot of that, we can look at that then.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I am glad to hear about the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission review. We will have it before the end of this year because it is urgently needed. The Minister extended the PMG study.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Yes.

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Did that not indicate that he was concerned about price gouging relating to the green bin? Generally speaking, people are well intentioned about household waste management. They want to do their best for their community, the environment and the country but they need to be encouraged in that regard. I am one of those who bitterly opposed the privatisation of the household commercial waste sector but the continuous stream of complaints I get about the total lack of transparency in terms of household waste management fees is a grave responsibility, which I do not believe the Minister has grappled with yet.

I have a final question. On the proposal for the €75 annual support for people with lifelong or medical incontinence, I understand the Department was talking about providing special support in that area. When will the Minister be able to announce that?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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First, if I did not extend the Price Monitoring Group remit until the end of the year, I would have been criticised for being anti-consumer regarding it. Now, the Deputy is questioning the reason I extended it. I extended it to ensure there was consistency in respect of-----

Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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The Minister knows there is something wrong, does he not?

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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-----the monitoring. I accept there is an array of charges and complexity in respect of them. The Deputy is right. It was an issue in the telecoms area and the regulator has addressed that. This might be something that will be reflected in the CCPC report and which we will have to look at in that context.

Regarding medical incontinence, my Department is continuing to work on the development of a mechanism to provide the €75 support for persons with lifelong or long-term medical incontinence to help meet the average annual cost of disposing of medical incontinence products. Unfortunately, this process has taken longer than I had envisaged due to data protection issues that arose with the introduction of the general data protection regulation, GDPR. I am committed to introducing an annual support as soon as practically possible in conjunction with the relevant agencies and stakeholders. We have the funding, and I hope that I can make an announcement on that quite soon.