Results 2,381-2,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I do not agree with the Minister of State but I reserve the opportunity to submit an amendment on Report Stage. The Minister of State needs to reflect on whether, if the sole objective of "policies and practices" is keeping materials in use and extracting the most value from them, this will not embrace the wrong choice of materials in the first place. It is important a circular economy...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: We could look at adding another subsection (a) that explicitly looks at design and choice of materials.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I will withdraw it.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: On a point of order, given that we have to wait eight minutes every time a vote is called, it does seem to be a very poor use of our time.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: This amendment concerns packaging the Minister of State is proposing to take the authority to restrict. It seems unduly restrictive to insist that only food packaging be scrutinised and not packaging for other products. I know things like medical products may have their own legislation that governs the way they are packaged and we might not want to stray into territory where medical...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: This grouping proposes to give the Minister wider powers that he is currently confining to single-use packaging with the food sector and plastic bags. Again, it seems he is unduly narrowing the scope of the environmental levy. I know there will be issues later as to how he sets that levy. There are concerns that he should ensure the levy looks at the whole-of-life impact of the type of...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I am happy to withdraw amendment No. 7 but have a question on something the Minister of State said. He said that the Minister can take materials out of the waste stream. He rightly cited these combination materials, referred to as PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are the plastic coatings on what look like recyclable products but does the Minister really have that power?...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: Yes.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 7: In page 9, line 17, after “food” to insert “or other products”.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: On amendment No. 9, one of the things missing from the Bill is the placing of obligations on other Ministers to take appropriate initiatives to promote the circular economy in the sectors where they have responsibility. Amendment No. 9 advocates that we should start to encourage circular compacts within sectors whereby the sectors come together to look at issues like design and material...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: It was the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time. The Minister for Finance fell sick and the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time was asked to deputise as Minister for Finance. He submitted a request from the Department of Foreign Affairs and then walked across to the Department of Finance and signed "approved". Perhaps the Minister of State will have the opportunity to do something...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: On amendment No. 12, I believe that the Minister of State has already signalled he is accepting Deputy Whitmore's amendment. In an earlier amendment I believe he gave that indication. I presume that the Minister of State will be accepting amendment No. 11, so my amendment No. 12 would fall.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 15: In page 10, line 25, after "targets," where it secondly occurs to insert "in Construction, Food, Clothing and Textiles, Equipment, and other relevant sectors," . I am not pressing amendments Nos. 15 and 17 because the Minister of State intends to look at the substance of these amendments on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I agree with the idea of having an annual review and reports of progress. I am proposing that the report on the progress in relation to the circular economy would be integrated with the climate action reporting, which is done through the Department of the Taoiseach, as well as the Minister of State's Department, so it creates an obligation and an expectation that other Ministers will be...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 24: In page 11, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(9) The Minister, and relevant sectoral Ministers shall report progress on actions and targets through the reporting mechanisms established under section 15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.”. I will withdraw this but suggest to the Minister of...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: This did come up in the course of our earlier discussions and one agency having responsibility for the development of the circular economy programme seemed strange to me. I know the agency would have particular responsibilities and I can see why it might get mentioned in the legislation but the way it reads at the moment, the Minister presents the strategy and the EPA produces the programme....

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: Will the Minister of State outline the policy tools that will be included in executing the circular economy strategy? My fear is that many of the tools we might want to deploy will not be ones for which the EPA has the legislative powers. If we were considering banning a product, we would have to do something else, or if we were developing a strategy for construction, I do not think we...

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I am not sure the EPA's legislation ever intended it to examine design issues, how markets are established, the principles that apply, how the planning system works to integrate circular prospects and how public procurement works. That seems a little beyond the agency's remit.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: Yes.

Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (3 May 2022)

Richard Bruton: I move amendment No. 32: In page 16, between lines 14 and 15, to insert the following: “(c) the use of materials in packaging for the retail sector as the Minister may prescribe for the purposes of this section.”.