David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not understand the rationale behind it.

Let us look at the whole business of privatisation. Senator Boyhan says he does not mind paying. I do not mind paying for things either. We pay for water through the water tax. We pay for bins through the bin tax. We pay for roads through the car tax. Then we have the property tax. Hello. What is the property tax for? If we pay for everything else, why are we paying property tax? People's homes should be sacrosanct.

Anyway, the real reason I have stood up today relates to a letter I sent to the Minister. I am unsure whether he has even caught sight of it. I sent it approximately one month ago and I also sent a copy to Andrew Rae of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. I raised questions about a proposed merger between Panda and Greenstar. This raises serious questions and I welcome the opportunity to put them on the record of the House.

I have ten questions for the Minister. Is the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission satisfied that in this matter competition rules have been appropriately enforced? Is it true that Panda required and was given detailed operational information by Greenstar? Was the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission informed of this? Has the commission, as a result, audited company e-mails and records? That is an important point. I believe certain things would be revealed if there were such an audit and I call on the Minister to indicate to the House whether such an audit has taken place or will take place.

If this merger goes ahead, Panda will control the Dublin waste stream with the three biggest waste transfer stations in Dublin, namely: Greenstar, Millennium Park, north Dublin; Panda, Ballymount, west Dublin; and Greenstar, Bray, covering south Dublin and Bray, County Wicklow.

Waste is an asset, a point not fully understood outside the industry. Control of the disposal depots for sorting, recycling and bulking up for onward disposal after recycling means all small operations have to pay the waste in-take price. All kinds of waste, including domestic waste, will be set by Panda. Does this not constitute a monopoly?

In addition, I understand that Panda has an agreement to supply the Dublin incinerator with 400,000 tonnes of a 600,000 tonnes annual requirement, thereby allowing Panda to set the price to incinerator operators over time and, therefore, to set the price for the taxpayer. A Greenstar Panda merger will mean the firm will have a monopoly on this waste stream. Without a Greenstar Panda merger there is open competition for waste contracts and the waste stream to supply it. This would drive down the price to European waste disposal levels. Is this a matter of concern to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission? Panda will control over 90% of domestic waste customers in the Dún Laoghaire area after the proposed merger. It has been told that it will have to sell a portion of these customers. Should Greenstar not have been required to sell the customers under supervision? Were data protection regulations taken into consideration during the process?

The new charging mechanism for green bins has recently been signed into law allowing for charging by weight, etc. Does market research not show that with the new rules waste volumes will drop by 25% initially due to consumer over-reaction to a perceived higher charge? Then, as consumers get used to the charges, they will readjust and volumes will recover over a short period. Waste companies will price in the reduction in volume to recover their losses in volume and increase their margin but they will not readjust as volumes recover. In practice, the real cost of waste disposal to the consumer is set to increase significantly. Is it not true that in acquiring Greenstar, Panda will also gain 30% of the Cork market and 40% of the south-east market, making it the biggest waste operator in the country with an ability to crush its competition, as many of the waste collectors are small and unable to sustain a major competitor?

Finally, in assessing the size of the merged entity, I understand that the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission took into consideration or included the Kildare and Wicklow regions as well as parts of Westmeath and Louth, i.e., all of the surrounding counties. Does this not dilute the real picture, as the analysis should have been done on the Dublin boroughs?