Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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172. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will report on the next steps to be taken in the process of transitioning Ireland's municipal waste collection market from its current side-by-side licensing system to a franchise tendering system; the timeline by which a decision will be made, either to retain the current model or change to a franchise system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46553/25]

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 Department commissioned the waste collection market research to examine the factors contributing to stagnation in recycling performance and to assess how Ireland could unlock its recycling potential in order to meet national and EU circular economy and waste targets. The year long study is at an early stage with completion scheduled for early Q2 2026.