Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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14. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if there are any grants from his Department for businesses that are operating eco-friendly laundry services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55618/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Circular Economy Innovation Grant Scheme (CEIGS), administered by my Department, directly supports the growth of the circular economy in Ireland via a competitive funding process. The scheme aims to support innovation and demonstration circular economy projects by small to medium enterprises and social enterprises. In 2021, 10 projects were selected to benefit from a total funding pot of €490,000. A second funding call was launched in 2022, with total available funding set at €650,000. The Circular Economy Strategy further commits to increasing per annum funding under the grant scheme to €1 million by 2024. It is intended that a third call will be launched early in 2024.

An effective transition to a circular economy in Ireland will transform the way materials and resources are consumed, and how the products that households and businesses use are designed and marketed. It will also prevent waste generation, reduce consumption, and extend the productive life of goods. Delivering a circular economy will ensure a focus and increased consumer awareness on the broader impacts of consumption patterns beyond waste generation, and enable more sustainable consumer choices.

The Government’s Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy, published in 2020, reconfirms the link between the circular economy and climate action and mandates a whole-of-government approach to ensure a successful transition to a circular economy. The Whole-of-Government Circular Economy Strategy 2022-2023, published in December 2021, sets out an overall policy approach to achieving a circular economy, including the development of a circular economy for consumer goods. The next iteration of the strategy is currently being developed by my Department and will set out targets for, inter alia, reductions in material resource consumption across a range of sectors including the retail and packaging sectors. These national policy developments are in line with policy developments at EU level, including the European Green Deal and the New Circular Economy Action Plan, which commit to sustainable consumption and transferring the EU into a circular economy.