Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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1702. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his Department is making an examination on placing waste collection and disposal back in the remit of the local authorities; the estimated cost of such a move; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26111/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The obligations on local authorities in relation to collecting household waste are set out in the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended and, in summary, provide that:

- Each local authority shall collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within its functional area.

- The obligation to collect or arrange for the collection of household waste shall not apply if:

- an adequate waste collection service is available in the local authority's functional area,

- the estimated costs of the collection of the waste would, in the opinion of the local authority, be unreasonably high, or

- the local authority is satisfied that adequate arrangements for the disposal of the waste concerned can reasonably be made by the holder of the waste.

There are no proposals to change these arrangements at this time.

By way of background, altering the structure of household waste collection market was the subject of a public consultation exercise in 2011.  A comprehensive Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) from 2012 also considered options regarding the organisation of the household waste collection market.

The RIA recognised that there were some advantages to the ‘franchise bidding’ approach (also known as competition for the market) which scored marginally higher than strengthening the regulatory regime and keeping the existing ‘side by side’ competitive market structure (competition in the market).  However, given the critical nature of the waste collection service, the risks associated with moving to ‘franchise bidding’ were judged to deem this option ultimately less desirable.  Noting that there was a possibility that a switch from ‘side by side’ competition to ‘franchise bidding’ could incur costs that actually made household waste collection less efficient, the RIA ultimately made the recommendation to strengthen the regulation of the market, especially in light of the risks associated with competition for the market.  

Progress has been made in significantly strengthening the regulatory regime including putting in place  robust controls to ensure that only “fit and proper” individuals and companies are allowed to hold such permits and requiring all household waste collectors to put in place Customer Charters, clearly setting out information for customers  in relation to issues such as charging structures.

The then Competition Authority were tasked, under A Resource Opportunity – Waste Management Policy in Ireland, with carrying out a formal review of the operation of the household waste collection market during 2016.  However, this review was deferred, pending the scheduled introduction of pay-by-weight charging, so as to provide sufficient time for the new charging system to take effect before undertaking such a review.