John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 513: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will establish a common approach or guidelines to be adopted by local authorities in relation to the consideration of applications for waste collection permits; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14359/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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A single local authority is nominated within each waste management region to operate the regulation of waste permits on behalf of all local authorities within that region. It is a matter for each nominated collection permitting authority to determine under the Waste Management (Collection Permit) Regulations 2001 (as amended) the conditions which may be attached to a waste collection permit granted by it arising from consideration of applications submitted to them. My Department has no direct function in this matter.

However, the office of environmental enforcement has engaged, in consultation with my Department, consultants to carry out a review of the waste permitting system. The scope of the study includes a review of waste collection permitting regulations and recommendations on possible changes to the existing legislation as well as the development of an accompanying training programme aimed at ensuring uniformity of practice amongst the local authorities. Based on this work, I hope to be in a position to publish draft regulations for public consultation in the near future.