Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 53 seeks to add a new item to the list of items the supply of which the Minister may, by regulation, prohibit within the State. It gives the Minister the power to ban the supply of electronic items that have absolute obsolescence built in. Amendment No. 54 seeks to give the Minister the power to ban the supply of electronic items that have relative obsolescence built in. By way of context, obsolescence is a question of how and when products meet the end of their useful lifetime and are replaced with new ones. Amendment No. 59 adds a definition that clarifies amendments Nos. 53 and 54.

The European Environmental Agency, EEA, states:

... absolute obsolescence happens when a product no longer functions for objective reasons, because of a mechanical failure (mechanical obsolescence) or incompatibility of software (incompatibility obsolescence). Relative obsolescence means that the product is still functional, but is considered obsolete because of a desire for a new item (psychological, style, cosmetic or aesthetic obsolescence); a new product has better quality, functionality or effectiveness (technological obsolescence); or the price of repair or upgrade is too high compared with a new product (economic obsolescence).

According to a paper by the European Parliamentary Research Service, the main driver for the purchase of some products, such as washing machines, is absolute obsolescence whereas relative obsolescence is more important in the purchase of mobile phones or televisions. The EEA states that "a product becomes prematurely obsolescent when it breaks down early compared with what is possible". This again involves a choice being made to design a product in such a way that some element of it will break down and stop the product from functioning compared with the desired lifetime, which is what is desirable for the individual who purchased it. This is often the case with mechanical and electronic items. When the two forms of obsolescence are combined, it is known as planned obsolescence.

Following pre-legislative scrutiny, the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action recommended that an examination be conducted into the potential measures to address the challenge of planned obsolescence, particularly for electronics which are such a significant area. This could include a broad examination of international examples and potential measures. These could include the concept of the right to repair, which we have spoken about to some extent, as well as measures to tackle this important issue at the manufacturing point. If the product can be repaired, it should not be designed in a way that it only addresses one of those issues, namely, where the price of repair or upgrade becomes too high - economic obsolescence. Other areas such as mechanical obsolescence and bad design also need to be addressed. The joint committee highlighted that both France and Italy have produced legislation taking different approaches to address the issue of planned obsolescence. Although that legislation has been challenged, it is working. We are beginning to see early case law with prosecutions being taken on planned obsolescence in France and Italy.

Amendments Nos. 55 and 57 relate to the fundamental issue of resource management. It is no longer about waste but about resource management and the best possible management of finite resources. We talk about our carbon emissions space as being finite and a planetary boundary. Another part of our planetary boundary is the finite minerals, especially given the emission price of accessing those minerals. These amendments seek to add to the list of items, the supply of which the Minister may, by regulation, prohibit in the State, products that require precious metals or rare earth minerals to be completed. I am dealing with a blunt tool because I am dealing with the space of prohibition.Of course, I would prefer it if we had guidelines and regulations on manufacture and usage. The committee was clear on this matter, recommending "that given the importance of management of minerals, including precious minerals, in the context of national and global circular economy strategies, regulation and, where necessary, limitations in respect of the extraction of such minerals should be considered". I would also suggest that prohibitions should be considered.

I have spoken about extraction in the context of climate justice, but in the context of this amendment it is worth noting that, every year, at least $10 billion worth of gold, platinum and other precious materials are dumped into a growing mountain of electronic waste, which pollutes our environment. According to the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2020, a record 54 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019. We are increasing wastage of these previous metals and minerals. This is equivalent to 7.3 kg for every person on the planet in 2019 alone but the majority of this is generated in the global north. We often boast about being early adopters but some of this early adoption and quickly moving fashions represent an irresponsible use of resources. The lack of regulation, the short lifespans of products and products being difficult or impossible to repair were issues identified by the UN as driving much of this wastage.

These amendments would allow us to begin seriously to reduce the damage being done by the extraction of precious metals and minerals, which is deeply linked to the issue of climate justice, and to try to curb what are very much neocolonial aspects of the production of electronic goods and the extraction and exploitation required in the making of these products. We need only look to the very serious human rights concerns in respect of the extraction of coltan in the Democratic Republic of Congo and other countries to see an example of this. We need to minimise such extraction. We have used centuries' and millennia's worth of resources in the previous century alone. We need to pause extraction and look to the maximum effective use of all precious minerals currently in circulation globally before we consider extending or increasing further extraction.