Seanad debates

Thursday, 7 July 2022

Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages

 

9:30 am

Photo of Paul GavanPaul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak in support of amendment No. 64 and in support of my colleague, Senator Boylan, who articulated so clearly why this amendment should be accepted. I am shocked that 130,000 electrical items can be brought straight to dumps in one week. It is absolutely shocking. I have to be direct with the Minister of State, though I will be respectful. I cannot for the life of me understand why he would not support an amendment like this, something that will make a fundamental difference in a really significant way, particularly when we have the French example and we know it can be done. I imagine everyone would say this should be done. I am sure the Minister of State will not argue we should not tackle this issue, but I am afraid he will suggest we not tackle it today. Will we have another circular economy Bill next year? This is the opportunity to do this. As Senator Boylan pointed out, this was brought up on Committee Stage. I understand the Minister of State said he would go away and investigate this. There is a fundamental point here as to how we change our economy. When goods go to landfill without ever being used, not only do we waste the product and all the energy and raw materials that went into making it, but we also facilitate large corporations' unsustainable business model of greedy overconsumption. How on earth can the Minister of State not endorse this amendment? It is so fundamental, so crucial, to the type of change I believe we all want to see. I hope the Minister of State will not turn down the amendment; I hope he will endorse it. We have an amendment, so there is no reason he cannot endorse it today and move on in a positive way. Will a Green Party Minister of State reject this amendment when something so absolutely egregious is going on weekly, with 130,000 electric goods being sent straight to landfill? Is the Bill really going to turn a blind eye to that and to the appalling practices of companies like Amazon? Seriously? I hope the Minister of State will come back with a positive endorsement of this amendment; otherwise, let us be clear, the Green Party will not just miss a huge opportunity to do the right thing but will also let down a great many of its own supporters who, I believe, would be fully supportive of the amendment. There will not be a second chance on this in the lifetime of this Government. This is the chance to endorse something that would make a fundamental difference in the right way to our economy and our society. I ask the Minister of State to support amendment No. 64.

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