Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide that information relating to the repairability of certain products be made available and to provide for related matters.

Ba mhaith liom ar dtús mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le hOifig na gComhairleoirí Dlí Parlaiminte as an obair a rinne siad ag ullmhú an Bhille seo, go mór mór d'Orla Ryan, Aoife Kavanagh agus Laura McCormack. Given the increasing demands of legal and regulatory compliance when it comes to proposing Bills and policies, having these supports available to Opposition TDs is very important.

The Bill creates a repairability index for common consumer goods such as laptops, washing machines and lawnmowers. It allows consumers to understand the ease with which a product can be repaired, as well as the availability of spare parts and guidance on doing so. It is modelled on a proposal from France and parallels the energy index we see on many products. My hope is the Government will take it on board.

Innovation in the marketplace is inevitably concerned with increased profitability but often at the expense of sustainability. Empowering consumers is often the solution and putting a price or regulatory burden on sustainability for companies produces results. The number of products covered by the Bill can be expanded later by the Minister and there are sanctions for companies that will not comply. The ability to repair a product is crucial to consumers, who are increasingly obliged to replace products where a fault occurs. This is expensive and environmentally wasteful, with many products having inbuilt lifespans far shorter than those of previous models. They do not make them like they used to. Consumers are prevented in many cases from repairing their products and that can be a massive concern. Cases in respect of agricultural machinery have been taken and won in the United States. Environmental concerns are also significant, with the OECD reporting that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, while 22% is mismanaged globally. We must reduce packaging, and allowing for consumers to reuse existing products is the most efficient way to do so.

Section 2 explains that the purpose of the proposed Act is to deliver on the strategy of the circular economy, as outlined in the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.

Section 3 clarifies that the Bill applies to relevant products such as laptops, washing machines and so forth, and provides that the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications may prescribe specific products or classes of product to be relevant products.

Section 5 provides that a supplier shall ensure that a product, when placed on the market, is accompanied free of charge by a repairability label and a product information sheet.

Section 6 provides that a dealer of a relevant product shall display the label in a visible manner and make product information sheets available.

Section 7 provides that the Minister, after consulting the EPA, shall prescribe the information to be contained on the label, the design and specifications of repairability labels and any other such requirements the Minister deems appropriate.

Sections 8 to 16, inclusive, set out the powers of the EPA.

Section 17 enables the agency to prosecute.

I commend the Bill to the House. As mentioned, I hope it will be implemented in some form in the near future. Great care and attention was taken to ensure compliance with EU law and other barriers.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers, OPLA, and the Bills Office for their assistance with the Bill, as well as Lee Daly in Deputy Daly's office and Tony Loughran in my office for their work on the Bill as well. The ability to repair a product is crucial to consumers, who are increasingly expected to replace products where a fault occurs. We have in many cases lost the ability to repair products, or have them repaired, by ourselves. Much of what we produce becomes redundant quickly and ends up in recycling centres or in rubbish tips. In Limerick, we have a pretty good recycling facility in Mungret Civic Amenity Centre but one despairs at the number of electrical items in overflowing cages and baskets there. Clearly, many of these discarded items of equipment could and should be repaired, recycled and reused.

The Bill that Deputy Daly and I are submitting creates a repairability index for common consumer goods such as laptops, washing machines and lawnmowers. While the list in the Bill is not prescriptive, it allows the relevant Minister, under section 3, to prescribe specific products or classes of product to be relevant products, thus allowing the list to expand without additional legislation. The Bill, if enacted, as I hope it will be, allows consumers to understand the ease with which products can be repaired as well as the availability of spare parts and guidance on doing so. It removes some fears and myths in that, far too often, people dump items that could be easily repaired and reused.

Everyone has a part to play in dealing with the climate emergency the world is facing. The Bill, as my party colleague Deputy Daly said, allows consumers to understand the ease with which products can be repaired, as well as the availability of spare parts and guidance and support on doing the same. It should be of great assistance to those who genuinely want to take part in the circular economy and to use items that have been repaired and enhanced rather than dumped. The Bill is a no-brainer and I hope the Government will allow it to pass in order that it can be scrutinised and enhanced, if necessary, on Committee Stage and subsequently enacted into law. The premise of the Bill, as I said, is to reduce the wastage of many popular products and devices, help extend the life of products, and contribute in a small way to climate action by extending the life of listed products and subsequently reducing the numbers of relatively new products being dumped before they can be repaired and reused.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Bill opposed?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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No.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."