Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Fitzgerald for giving us such a detailed presentation. First and foremost we must acknowledge the enormous efforts of farmers in this area. Farmers are facing a lot of challenges and are under a lot of pressure. When plastic was first introduced to farming, it was a blight on the countryside and townies derided this. Hand on heart, though, one would find it hard to drive down a country road now and find a piece of plastic which is testament to farmers and the efforts they are making.

The world is changing, as is the economy. We are now aiming for a circular economy. In his opening statement, Mr. Fitzgerald referred to the Chinese, who really cornered this market, as well as the paper market. Indeed, they cornered so many markets and were ahead of every other economy in this game. However, when they had what they wanted, they shut the door.

We have a number of challenges in this country in terms of recycling. Used paint, for example, is next to impossible to recycle. It is very difficult to recycle paper, particularly newspaper, because the Chinese are closing the door or are dropping the price such that recycling companies here cannot afford to collect it. This is putting pressure on Repak. There are some positive recycling developments including a very successful tyre recycling business in County Longford. Tyres are being recycled and made into a synthetic plastic that is used in sand arenas.

We are placing enormous demands on farmers and the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill will increase such demands significantly. It is important that we do not burden them with additional costs. Realistically, 25,000 tonnes in the context of recycling overall is not a big figure. It is a very manageable amount. That said, the recycling of farm plastic cannot operate in a silo. It can only operate in a campus where other materials are also being recycled, including paper and newspaper. The recycling companies themselves argue that we need to be recycling such waste on Irish soil rather than exporting it.

In terms of the academics out there, who has Mr. Fitzgerald linked up with? In a lot of the universities, but particularly in our institutes of technology, there are specialists in the area of plastic. Has Mr. Fitzgerald linked up with any of them? In the context of the just transition, has he had discussions with Bord na Móna and the ESB?

Bord na Móna, as Mr. Fitzgerald rightly said, has a semblance of a plan. It has a track record in recycling. Has Mr. Fitzgerald had any discussions on a joint venture with it? Those are two questions for Mr. Fitzgerald.