Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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1472. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide concessions or allowances for families that generate more and unavoidable refuse due to health and medical issues in terms of pay by weight charges; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41303/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The charges applied by waste management companies are a matter between those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation.

The waste management industry had committed to providing a full weight allowance for the disposal of non-infancy incontinence wear to patients supplied with such products by the HSE if a mandatory pay-by-weight per-kilogramme charging system was introduced for household waste collection.

However, as the waste industry began releasing, in June 2016, its proposed prices under the introduction of a mandatory pay-by-weight charging structure, the Government relayed its concern to the industry regarding the reported escalation of waste bills for customers of certain companies. On foot of this, my Department engaged with representatives of the waste industry to agree a way forward. Therefore, the mandatory pay-per-kilogramme charging for household waste collection was not implemented in June 2016. However, it remains open to a company to continue to offer waste collection on a pay-by-weight basis. Many companies already had a pay-by-weight element to their charging structure before the agreement was reached and many of their customers had opted for this approach.

My Department is currently reviewing, together with the regulatory authorities and industry representatives, the introduction of an incentivised pricing system, such as pay by weight, for household waste collection. The review is due to be completed by July 2017. Incentivised pricing aims to encourage householders to prevent, reduce and segregate their waste, to reduce our reliance on landfill for waste disposal in light of the landfill capacity emergencies that occurred in 2016, and also facilitates the industry in providing householders with a range of options to manage their waste costs. The issue raised by the Deputy will be considered as part of the review.