John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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256. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department has analysed the number of jobs that could be created if Ireland’s waste disposal and recovery requirements were handled here instead of being exported; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14346/16]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Exporting is a loss of waste resources that could otherwise be used to generate employment, open up new markets for Irish products, and boost domestic economic activity. Government waste policy supports managing waste as a national resource, and the benefits of this approach, as part of the transition to a circular economy , are increasingly being recognised across Europe. If Ireland can continue to progress up the value chain of the waste hierarchy, i.e. prepare for reuse, recycle and recover waste within the State, more opportunities in green waste technologies and previously untapped subsectors of waste recovery are likely to emerge. It is estimated that 2,100 jobs could be created directly through the complete domestic processing of recyclables and bio-waste alone.