Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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222. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timeline for the publication and implementation of the second Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy; if this strategy will include collection and sorting targets for specific packaging materials; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25326/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Both my Department and the Government as a whole is committed to promoting the circular economy and to support sectors and enterprises in doing so.

The second Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy is currently being finalised. This will have a statutory basis, under the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022. My Department intends to initiate a public consultation for the draft Strategy in the coming weeks.

In line with the requirements under the Act, the Strategy will include targets for specific economic sectors that will drive reductions in material resource consumption and incentivise the use of re-usable products and materials. The packaging sector will be one such sector addressed by the strategy. The other sectors include construction, agriculture, retail, textiles and electronic equipment.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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223. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the timeline for the implementation of the Programme for Government commitment to provide investment in sorting technology in Ireland’s materials recovery facility (MRF) network to improve recycling processes and rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25327/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I have commissioned a comprehensive study to explore the feasibility, potential benefits and risks associated with transitioning our waste collection system from its current model of side-by-side market competition to a franchise tendering system for local authority areas or regions. The recommendations from this study will inform the next iteration of the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (WAPCE). This next iteration of WAPCE will, along with the publication of Ireland’s second Circular Economy Strategy later this year, look at options to support greater investment in indigenous, climate-resilient infrastructure by focusing on measures that enhance our capacity to transform waste into secondary materials and seek to create a culture of circular behaviour.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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224. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to elaborate on the Programme for Government commitment to publish a plan to expand producer responsibility schemes to take accountability for the full lifecycle of products including what the information the plan will contain and the timeline for the plan’s publication; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25328/25]