Sinn Féin spokesperson on Climate Action and the Environment, Darren O’Rourke TD, has expressed deep concern at Bord na Móna’s reported plan to sell-off its waste management business, arguing that further entrenchment of the ‘side-by-side’ model is not only bad for consumers and for workers, it is also bad for the environment.

Speaking after raising the issue with the Taoiseach in the Dáil today, Teachta O’Rourke said;

“Reports of Bord na Móna’s intention to sell off the waste management arm of its business should raise alarm bells. The effective exit of the only (semi) state actor in the market will further entrench the ‘side by side ’ model when we should be moving in exactly the opposite direction.

“As far back as 2018, the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) made it clear that it is more efficient and more cost effective for one firm to supply the market than to have several suppliers.

“Despite this, there have been no moves to make this a reality.

“Instead, day in day out, multiple trucks clamour down the same street, often forgetting to collect various bins and causing great nuisance to local communities. To add insult to injury, illegal dumping is also at an all-time high.

“The reality is that ‘side by side competition’ is not working. It hampers efficiency, drives up emissions and exacerbates local traffic congestion.

“A change in approach is needed.

“Bord na Móna’s waste collection, processing end treatment solution collects over 450,000 tonnes of waste from 135,500 customers every year. Significantly, the commercial semi-state also employs 300 employees. By placing it into private ownership, Ireland would continue to buck international trends which are increasingly moving toward the remunicipalisation of waste collection services.

“I am calling on the government to intervene in the sale of Bord na Móna’s waste management division. They should also explore ways in which the 2014 EU Concession Directive could be applied to Bord na Móna in order to bring the bins back under public ownership.

“Ireland’s 2030 circular economy targets are fast approaching. The remunicipalisation of waste could form a key lever to achieving them.”