Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire agus roimh an reachtaíocht atá á plé againn inniu. Tréaslaím leis an Seanadóir Ní Bhaoighealláin as ucht an Bille atá os ár gcomhair um thráthnóna.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As other colleagues across the House have done, I commend Senator Boylan and Brian Marron in her office on drafting and driving forward this important legislation. It is particularly stark when we hear some of the statistics we heard today during the course of this debate. I think we can all agree this is a pretty shocking practice. From a fundamental perspective, we can all agree that this should not be happening. We all know the ethical issue of waste before even getting into the environmental and ecological impacts, and, indeed, the societal impact, which other colleagues mentioned, on the global south and other places. We are on common ground.

There are a number of points I wish to make. It is to talk about the ethics of this and the drive, intent and culture that prevail which allow this large-scale industrial waste, not just without being held accountable, but also that a lot of these large corporations are incredibly glic. Most people do not know. For example, until Senator Boylan brought forward the amendment to the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, I did not know this was such a common practice and was happening across the board. As Senator Gavan rightly said, and it is a point worth making again, this is due to a relentless and insatiable juggernaut of global, uncurtailed capitalism which is having this impact around the world. This is part and parcel of that.

In reflecting on what I would say today, and the big, macro issues have been dealt with, I thought about how I approach an issue of this scale, as an individual. Other colleagues said that sometimes all of the burden and responsibility is placed on us as individuals. I am not entirely sure how the practice works in the South, but in Belfast, I have to divide up my items for the black bin, which is the waste bin, food recycling and recyclables.There are days when I look over at the corner in the kitchen where I keep the food waste bin and the plastic, cardboard and other things that can go down into the boxes, and I realise I am using a lot of material. I then feel guilty. I also worry that if I put the wrong thing in the wrong box I could incur a penalty from the council, and I suppose that would be fair enough and rightly so. Then we come in here and we hear that literally millions of items that are unused or returned are going into landfill and then being incinerated. This proposal, therefore, makes absolute sense to me in this context. As I understand it, the Minister of State will not be opposing this legislation, but when he spoke last time on the previous amendment, he referred to waiting to see what the EU was going to do in this regard and that something might be coming down the line. Action on this issue, though, is required now.

We cannot wait. We have the opportunity to do something tangible and important. I think all of us can accept this State will not be the biggest perpetrator in this regard but, nevertheless, if we look at the patterns around the world, we can see this is already happening. What are we going to do about it? How are we going to respond? This legislation being brought forward by the Sinn Féin team is the first step in this journey to doing what is right and necessary. I say this because I do not need to remind the Minister of State that we are in the midst - if not beyond it - of a global and biodiversity catastrophe. Let us, therefore, show today that not only are we on the side of ethics, the environment, the planet and a just transition but also of ensuring workers around the world are not exploited and people are treated fairly.

Let us also ensure this legislation not only passes today on Second Stage - I know the Minister of State does not decide the schedule of business here, this being a matter for this House - but I ask the Minister of State to encourage his colleagues in government to ensure this legislation does not continue to sit in limbo. This issue is time sensitive. We have an opportunity to do something similar to what France has done and to send a message around to the rest of the EU and the world to say this is a problem and we are taking it seriously. We should show that we are not only taking this seriously, but that we are going to hold to account and punish those who engage in this catastrophic, offensive and gross practice of industrial-scale unnecessary waste. Let us, therefore, get the Bill through on Second Stage today, but let us also see it come back for debate on further Stages shortly after the summer break. Let us ensure this legislation passes effectively for the benefit of all.