Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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853. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment further to Parliamentary Question No. 346 of 28 June 2019, the outcome of the meeting on 13 June 2019. [44580/19]

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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863. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of the delivery of the annual support of €75 for the disposal of medical incontinence wear for vulnerable persons to help meet the average annual coat of disposing of domestic waste; when the support will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44860/19]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 853 and 863 together..

Since mid-2017, a range of charging options have operated, which encourage householders to reduce and separate their waste. This provides flexibility to waste collectors to develop various service-price offerings that suit different household circumstances. Mandatory per kilogramme 'pay by weight' charging was not introduced. ​A Price Monitoring Group (PMG) was established in mid-2017 to monitor the on-going cost of residential waste collection to homeowners across Ireland as the ‘flat-rate structure’ was being phased out. While fluctuations in prices and service offerings have been observed, the overall trend has been relative price stability.

My Department has been examining this issue in detail and has engaged with relevant stakeholders in an effort to see how best to provide a financial support to persons with long-term incontinence with respect to the disposal of medical incontinence wear. In this regard my officials held a meeting with a number of representative organisations on 13 June 2019 to provide an update on the current situation regarding the proposed support along with a summary of efforts to date to develop a suitable mechanism to deliver this support. There are complex issues at play, which is understandable given the sensitive nature of the medical data in question.