It seems waste collection companies are threatening to hike prices for collecting recycling bins. Their claim is that this is to make up for the loss of plastic bottles and drink cans to the deposit return scheme that is now in place. If this price hike goes ahead, it will be a blow to households, many of which are struggling with the cost of living. People have engaged with the deposit return scheme in good faith to play their part in protecting the environment. It seems they now face a rip-off for doing the right thing. I am sure the Taoiseach will agree this cannot be countenanced. The idea that households could face higher costs to protect the profit margins of private companies is outrageous. When will the Government follow the example of other EU states and bring the bins back under public control to ensure households are treated fairly and to protect them from unfair costs?

The Government is not planning to do that. The Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications is currently engaging with the Irish Waste Management Association and other stakeholders such as Repak to conduct a robust evidence-based process to quantify what substantive impact, if any, the introduction of the deposit return scheme will have on the waste collection system in Ireland over the longer term.