John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

82. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has reported on the operation of the household waste collection market; if this report has been published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30639/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

On 4 July 2017, a motion was passed by Dáil Éireann which called on the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to ask the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) to report on the operation of the household waste collection market.

Following a formal request on 25 September from the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the then Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in accordance with section 10(4) of the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014, requested the CCPC to carry out a study on the operation of the household waste collection market.

The study will assess the nature and scale of consumer and operator issues in the household waste collection market and consider if the introduction of an enhanced regulatory regime could efficiently address these issues, in the short and long term. It will include the following elements:

1. Research on Current Issues in the Waste Sector;

2. An Economic Assessment of the Household Waste Collection Market;

3. An Overview of Waste Collection in Other Countries; and

4. Recommendations

To date, I am informed that the CCPC has carried out an extensive series of interviews and meetings with over 20 relevant stakeholders in the waste market including the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment and other entities with a policy or a regulatory role (at national or regional level), academics, representative groups and individual household waste collection operators.

In addition, it has also conducted desk based research, issued a request for information from over 40 domestic operators, commissioned consumer research and an external econometric analysis, and engaged with other national competition agencies on how waste markets operate in their jurisdictions. The CCPC has also undertaken a public consultation to collect information on the household waste collection market and to gather the views of stakeholders in a formal capacity.

I understand this exercise is still underway and it is anticipated that the report will be finalised over the summer months. The issue of publication will be considered at that stage.