John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the steps he is taking to ensure the proposed price increases being charged by waste collection companies on the introduction of pay-by-weight in 2016 will not be repeated in 2017 when there is a change again to a fully pay-by-weight collection system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5423/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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The charges applied by waste management companies are matters for those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation, including contract and consumer legislation. Matters relating to consumer legislation fall under the remit of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.

Notwithstanding the above, a voluntary arrangement whereby industry would not increase regular prices for providing the same level of service of household waste collection was arrived at last summer to allow the planned introduction of per kilogramme pay by weight charging in 2016 to be reassessed.

In this regard, my Department is currently reviewing, together with the regulatory authorities and industry representatives, the introduction of an incentivised pricing system 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 waste disposal in light of the landfill capacity emergencies that occurred in 2016.  Considering more than one form of incentivised pricing structure also facilitates industry in providing householders with a range of options to manage their waste costs.