Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. It would be remiss of me not to point out the rushed manner in which this Bill is being brought before us. The Department sought for the pre-legislative scrutiny to be waived. No general scheme of the Bill was published. There was no regulatory impact assessment. It was rushed through the Dáil in two sittings and today it will be rushed through this House in one sitting. We are being asked to grant a waiver to the constitutional provisions against rushed legislation, to allow for …

We are a complete outlier.

It is the demand-side strategy.

I move amendment No. 1: In page 11, line 30, after "€650,000,000" to insert the following: “and such borrowings shall be used in line with principles of and for the purpose of facilitating a just transition”. Senator Higgins sends her apologies as unfortunately she cannot be here today. The amendment is quite simple. We are increasing the borrowing limits given to Bord na Móna quite significantly. This should be the case as we are in a climate emergency and in a cost-of-living crisis in which the price of energy is…

May I come back in?

It might not be the last word. This is Committee Stage so I can say a few words.

We are rushing enough as it is. The mid-Shannon wilderness park is a perfect example of where we are not seeing a just transition by Bord na Móna. There are concerns in that regard and that was why I was happy to move Senator Higgins's amendment.

The mid-Shannon wilderness park in the midlands. Bord na Móna gave a commitment to the community. The community was asked what it would like to see happen in the area and the people in the area were given a commitment for a wilderness park. It was endorsed by the county manager at the time. Bord na Móna then went ahead and put in a planning application for a wind farm on the site. We know that wind farms on peatland, particularly if the peat can be rehabilitated, is going to cause emissions as opposed to what it co…

I echo what Senator Ruane said, and I raised this yesterday on Order of Business. It is a shoddy way to do business. With all due respect, if the Minister of State had raised it on Second Stage, why did we not receive a briefing note? The amendments came through on Tuesday night. There is still no justification. The first time we heard what the rationale was behind these amendments was in the Minister of State's statement this morning. I asked numerous people who are far better than I am at reading legislation what…

Nobody doubts the emergency measures that are needed to keep the lights on during the winter. The issue is the nature in which this is being done. We have two hours. Committee Stage will be guillotined. Many of us who are invested in what the Bill is supposed to be about, which is the circular economy, have submitted numerous amendments, have given it time, have attended PLS and are really invested in what the circular economy is about, but now we are being asked to pass two amendments which have nothing whatsoever…

If they were relevant to the circular economy Bill, the Minister of State would not have had to use the facility of the Seanad to bring them in in the manner in which he did, which was to change the Order Paper yesterday. The reason he has had to do that is that the amendments are non-consequential to the circular economy Bill.

With regard to the spirit of the amendment, I sympathise with the fact that we do not want the unintended consequences of flimsy plastic. That is why Senator Pauline O'Reilly's proposal to address such items, rather than not introducing a levy, is a better way to go. I agree that we must move to a system where we do not have single-use items. The end of the journey in this regard is to reduce waste. I am concerned about potential greenwashing by companies. Even if a product is biodegradable or compostable by Europe…

I speak in support of amendments relating to climate justice and just transition because it is important those two principles go through the heart of any of our legislation, now that we are taking an economy-wide approach to climate action. Later on, we hope we will be able to bring amendments on Report Stage around that idea of the right to repair because it is an important element of just transition. It mitigates against planned obsolescence because those who have less means are not always able to constantly buy …

There are other amendments in the grouping.

I will speak to my amendment No. 13, which I have mentioned previously and which is about the civic amenity sites across the country. I know that a review of the civic amenity sites was carried out and that there were a number of findings from that review, particularly on the tariffs, the opening hours, the different materials that are accepted and the postcode lottery with regard to being within a reasonable distance of a civic amenity site. Amendment No. 13 seeks to achieve greater harmonisation in respect of tho…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 12, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: "(c) how to achieve greater harmonisation of civic amenity site services in terms of opening hours, materials accepted, accessibility, tariffs charged and an examination of the co-location of these facilities with cooperative and social enterprises such as Men’s Sheds.".

I move amendment No. 14: In page 12, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: "Right to Repair 8. (1) The Minister shall, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, prepare and publish a report examining how a right to repair can be introduced in Ireland. (2) This report shall examine how the introduction of minimum design requirements, allowing for the easy disassembly and replacement of key components, can assist in giving people a right to repair products. (3) The report shall also examine whether a S…

I appreciate the Minister of State's response and understand that it is easier to verify information on the lifespan of products at an EU level. I ask him to address amendment No. 74, which pertains to a ban on the dumping of new non-food products. This is an example where we know that an EU member state has already gone ahead and done this. In France, there is legislation where retailers are obliged to look for other options for unsold products, including donation or recycling. It is senseless for perfectly good p…

I withdraw my amendment and reserve the right to resubmit on Report Stage.

I move amendment No. 24: In page 16, line 4, to delete “Agency” and substitute “Minister”. The amendment seeks to assign responsibility for the circular economy programme to the Minister as opposed to the EPA. This is an issue that arose during the pre-legislative scrutiny stage and may have been one of the recommendations. We feel that it is appropriate while understanding the responsibilities and competencies of the agency that the Minister is defined in legislation, and is ultimately the accountable person.