Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support the Order of Business as outlined.

Today is international e-waste day, the purpose of which is to raise awareness and to call on households and businesses to get behind efforts in recycling waste electrical products. I was shocked to learn this morning that we had 60 million electrical devices in Ireland in 2020. That includes all household devices, phones and all types of lighting, etc. These items were brought into the country and purchased. It is a huge number when we consider how they are used. Households are being called on to recycle at least five items this week and ensure they are disposed of appropriately. This can be done at all of our recycling centres around the country. I must mention Silliot Hill recycling centre in County Kildare, which is an excellent resource. It is important that we endorse this call to reuse and recycle. We must also think about electrical equipment that we buy.

Recently, my fridge-freezer, which I had for less than seven years, broke down. I would have paid for it to be repaired because I felt the lifespan of a fridge-freezer should be longer than seven years. However, I was surprised to learn that seven years is the average lifespan of such products. It is shocking to think that such large pieces of equipment are effectively disposable. We need to issue a call to the manufacturers in relation to that also.

Yesterday, Kildare County Council awarded a contract for the Athy distributor road to BAM Ireland. This will allow the company to take possession of the land in the coming weeks, with construction to commence shortly afterwards. The project is vital to Athy and the surrounding areas. It is a project that I have continuously championed, along with my colleagues. I am glad to see it moving forward. I wish to issue a gentle reminder that the next important project in County Kildare is the construction of a second bridge in Newbridge. We need to keep that on the radar.

The third matter I raise concerns changing facilities and the need for Ireland to keep up to date with legislation in this area. New legislation on this has been introduced in England. In Ireland, we only have 17 publicly available changing facilities, and they are mainly in Dublin. It is about accessibility for persons with disabilities and those who have babies and small children. Going to the toilet is such a natural function. To think we should have to plan our lives around that is shocking. Funding has been provided in England for an extra 150 changing facilities a year. Currently, there are 1,400 places in England. Ireland pales in comparison with only 17 such facilities available. We must call for more adequate changing facilities.