Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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227. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the steps he is taking to increase the construction and demolition waste materials recycling rate in Ireland, which stood at 39.7% in 2020 versus an EU average of 78.1%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39459/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste, which includes all waste produced by the C&D of buildings and road infrastructure, accounts for over a third of all waste generated in the EU, with only 11.7 % of all materials used in the EU-27 coming from recycled waste in 2021. C&D waste contains a wide variety of materials such as concrete, bricks, wood, glass, metals and plastics. It is the largest waste stream in Ireland in terms of both volume and weight, and accounts for more than a third of all waste generated in the EU.

This sector is a priority for increased circularity at both a national and EU level. The Department is currently finalising a Circularity Roadmap for the Construction and Demolition sector which will include actions to improve the sustainability and overall circularity rate of this sector. This will include measures to improve recycling rates and will have sectoral buy-in, as the Roadmap will be informed by two key circularity focussed documents published by the sector over the last 12 months.

The second Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy is currently being finalised. I intend to initiate a public consultation on the draft Strategy in the coming weeks which will include targets for specific sectors that will drive reductions in material resource consumption and the use of non-recyclable materials, in addition to increased levels of usage of recycled materials. This Strategy has a legislative basis and one of its key focuses will be on the built environment, as provided for in section 7 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.

Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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228. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his views regarding the remunicipalisation of waste services in Ireland; if he has engaged with campaigners on the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39460/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Under the Waste Management Act, local authorities are statutorily responsible for municipal waste collection and waste management planning within their functional areas. It is open to the Chief Executive of any local authority to exercise their executive function in relation to waste collection to re-enter the waste collection market as direct service providers if they so choose. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996 the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory executive function vested in it.

The Deputy may wish to note a study to explore the feasibility, potential benefits and risks associated with transitioning our waste collection system from its current competitive licensing system to a franchise tendering system commenced in early 2025. A franchise tendering system involves competitive tendering for local waste collection services (that is, competition for the market). In this model private sector collection firms bid to provide waste collection services in an entire local authority area (or a grouping of local authority areas) for a given period of time and to a guaranteed level of service. The aim of this comprehensive year-long feasibility study is to identify how we can best support the achievement of EU recycling targets.

A Public Consultation to inform the study closed on the 4 June which garnered significant engagement. This consultation process was the first milestone in the year long study, covering a range of issues including exploring measures to assist in achieving our EU recycling targets (current and future) while developing a more resource efficient economy. Although the primary objective of the study is to identify policy options to enhance recycling rates with a view to meeting our EU targets, it will also include an assessment on the current waste collection model service efficiency and the cost to consumers.