Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 May 2026
282. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware that some waste collection services have added a temporary fuel surcharge; his views on whether the waste management sector is in need of a regulator; the measures he is taking to address this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38756/26]
View answerCharges applied by waste collection companies are matters for those companies and their customers, subject to compliance with all applicable environmental and other relevant legislation including contract, competition and consumer legislation. The Minister has no role in relation to pricing in a competitive market.
Waste Management is a statutory executive function of individual local authorities. Under the Waste Management Act, the National Waste Collection Permit Office (NWCPO) is responsible for the permitting and regulation of waste collection activities while the Environmental Protection Agency has responsibility for enforcement and oversight in relation to waste facilities and broader environmental compliance.
Private waste collectors operate under a waste collection permit issued by the NWCPO. These permits include a requirement that waste collection charging systems should incentivise customers to source segregate their waste, therefore the fees charged for the collection of the brown bin or mixed dry recyclables bin should be lower than the fees for the collection of the residual general waste bin. Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act, the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control, in particular circumstances, over the statutory functions of a local authority.
The terms and conditions of individual waste collection contracts, including pricing plans for the provision of bins, are matters between the waste collection companies and their customers, subject to compliance with the terms of their NWCPO permit. All such permits can be viewed in full on nwcpo.ie.
In 2024, the Department commissioned an independent study to examine:
the operation of the current waste collection market structure;
the effectiveness of the existing regulatory and enforcement arrangements in supporting the attainment of recycling targets; and
the feasibility, potential benefits and risks associated with a transition of 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.
This study has recently concluded and its recommendations are currently under consideration with a view to informing the next iteration of the Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy. Any future policy decisions in relation to waste collection and regulatory arrangements will be taken in line with the relevant frameworks and following appropriate consultation and consideration of the study’s findings. It should be noted that under the Waste Management Act the statutory responsibility for decisions on waste collection arrangements, including any move towards franchise tendering, rests with the Chief Executive of each local authority.
