Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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1439. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he has investigated the use of anaerobic digestion systems in waste disposal and energy production; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37696/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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In order to maximise the resource potential and minimise disposal of our waste, the European Union (Household Food Waste and Bio-waste) Regulations 2015 build on the Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulations 2009. These two sets of regulations place clear obligations on waste collectors, businesses and households to promote the segregation and recovery of food waste for purposes of producing energy, compost and digestate, thereby supporting job creation in the waste and bio-energy sectors. The Regulations also facilitate the achievement of the targets set out in the Landfill Directive (Directive 99/31/EC) for the diversion of bio-degradable municipal waste from landfill sites, by directing source-segregated household food waste to composting and to other forms of treatment.

There are positive indications that the implementation and enforcement of these Regulations are resulting in more food waste being diverted from landfill. The Environmental Protection Agency recently published Compost and Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Statistics for 2015 which highlighted that the quantity of waste accepted for treatment at composting and AD plants increased from 271 ktonnes in 2013 to 300 ktonnes in 2015 (11% increase).

The Programme for Government and the White Paper on Energy Policy recognise that anaerobic digestion (AD) technology can utilise waste as a resource to produce renewable energy, while the National Mitigation Plan summarises the role anaerobic digestion could provide in reducing carbon emissions.

The REFIT3 (Renewable Energy Feed in Tariff) scheme currently supports the production of electricity in 13 AD plants. In addition, my Department has undertaken a detailed economic assessment on the design and cost of introducing a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) in Ireland. This assessment included a broad range of renewable energy technologies, including the potential for the injection of biomethane produced in AD plants into the natural gas grid. The primary focus of the RHI is on large commercial and industrial heat users in the non-Emissions Trading Scheme to ensure the scheme is cost effective.

The final public consultation process on the design and implementation of the new RHI closed earlier this year with the findings informing final decisions in relation to the scheme. I will be bringing a proposal to Government in the coming weeks in relation to the scheme. Subsequent to a Government decision, a process for State Aid clearance from the European Commission will commence.

Last week, I launched a public consultation on the design options for a new Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS). This follows on from the RESS Technology Review consultation which identified a range of technologies, including AD technologies, to be further assessed. The consultation will remain open until 3 November 2017.