7 March 2006

Environment

Local Authority Service Providers

Ciarán Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will introduce appropriate regulatory framework to ensure that where local authority services are contracted to the private sector, the interests of consumers and not private monopolies are served, as recommended by the Indecon report.

Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche):

In line with the recommendations of the Indecon report on the financing of local government, which I published last week, I have been considering appropriate regulatory arrangements which could apply in respect of the emerging waste management sector where key roles are played by both the public and private sectors. I shall develop proposals in this regard for presentation to Government. I have no similar proposals in regard to other sectors where quite different circumstances obtain.