Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

Ireland already faces significant challenges in meeting certain of its EU targets. In 2009, we sent just over 1 million tonnes of biodegradable waste to landfill. The maximum amount of such material that can be sent to landfill in 2013 is 610,000 tonnes and will be only 427,000 by 2016. Our planning to meet these limits takes place against a background of landfill gate fees at record low levels. Currently, disposal, which is the most environmentally unsound option for dealing with our waste, is the cheapest. That situation is not sustainable.

A significant element of the response to this situation resides in the landfill levy. Greater flexibility in setting the levy will help to ensure a deterrent effect which will drive material away from landfill. The Bill before the House, once enacted, will contribute to ensuring waste is diverted from landfill, through higher landfill levies. It will also encourage the development of alternative treatment options to provide choice in the market and to deliver better environmental performance.

I mentioned the importance of clarity and to that end I today announce that, subject to the enactment of the Bill, the landfill levy will rise to €50 per tonne from 1 September 2011. I also plan to increase the levy to €65 per tonne from July 2012 and to €75 per tonne from July 2013. By announcing these rates today, I am providing the waste sector with the certainty it needs to prepare for the changes these increases will bring.

Another key issue on which the waste sector requires certainty relates to the application of a levy to incineration facilities. On 31 March, I completed Ireland's transposition of the waste framework directive by signing the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011. I have, therefore, been considering the waste facility levy proposal in that context and will make known my decision on Committee Stage which I hope can be accommodated shortly after the Easter recess. I make it clear that I have not completed the review of the Hennessy report which deals specifically with the proposal by Dublin City Council and Covanta to build a waste to energy facility at Ringsend. I am awaiting advice from the Attorney General in this regard.

Given the pressing need to move forward in complying with the landfill directive limits and to apply a range of measures to achieve compliance, my Department will complete a regulatory impact assessment on household food waste regulations. Regulations would be designed to divert such material away from landfill primarily through the brown bin system. I expect to conclude this assessment and announce my decision on the regulations before the summer recess.

The management of residual waste is only one part of the jigsaw. In line with the commitment in the programme for Government to move to competition for the market in household waste collection, I will commence a regulatory impact assessment next month to progress this proposal. This is a change supported by a number of analyses of the Irish waste market. I signal at this point my intention to include all stakeholders in this assessment process.

In addition to these regulatory impact assessments, I am initiating a review of existing producer responsibility schemes, with a particular focus on packaging, in light of commitments in the programme for Government. I want to ensure that such schemes deliver for their members and for Ireland in complying with national and EU legislation. The Bill also provides greater flexibility in setting the plastic bag levy, a tax which set the example for best international practice in waste prevention and minimisation. The level of plastic bag usage can fluctuate. To provide for a mechanism to respond to market conditions, I propose to amend the provisions of the Waste Management Act dealing with the plastic bag levy. While I have no immediate plans to increase the levy, I will keep the matter under review and keep a close eye on consumer usage and the preponderance of plastic bags in litter arising.

The Bill, of its nature, will deal with a variety of issues in its final form. As published, it provides for changes to the Air Pollution Act, the Waste Management Acts and the Freedom of Information Acts. There are four parts in the Bill, which contains nine sections, and I will refer in some detail to the main provisions.

Part 1 contains the standard preliminary and general sections. Part 2 provides for an increase in the monetary penalties under the Air Pollution Act 1987 and for the introduction of a system of graduated fixed payment notices, formerly known as on-the-spot fines, for certain offences under the Act. These measures will help to protect air quality in our towns and cities by supporting the enforcement of the smoky coal ban by local authorities.

Regulations under section 53 of the Air Pollution Act provide for a ban on the marketing and sale of bituminous or smoky coal in certain urban areas. It was first introduced in Dublin in 1990 and was subsequently extended to Cork, Limerick and other urban areas typically with a population of approximately 20,000. The measure has played a significant part in the improvement of air quality in urban areas in recent years. The success of the smoky coal ban is a good example of the positive effects environmental legislation can have on our health and quality of life.

While the ban has largely been effective, I am aware from our partners in local government as well as from members of the industry representative organisation, the Solid Fuel Trade Group, of some difficulties in the enforcement of the ban. There is also some evidence of a drop in sales of smokeless fuel over the past four to five seasons, while sales of bituminous coal have held up or even increased.

My Department has consulted extensively with local authorities to see how best to support the smoky coal ban and to safeguard and, where necessary, improve air quality in our urban areas. The amendments to the Air Pollution Act which are contained in this Bill are part of the outcome of this process. I intend to consult on further supplementary measures to ensure the continued effectiveness of the ban in the near future.

Currently, the penalties in the Air Pollution Act are: on summary conviction - fines up to €1,270 or 6 months imprisonment or a daily fine of up to €127 for continuing offences; and on conviction on indictment - fines of €12,700 or 2 years imprisonment or a daily fine of up to €1,270 for continuing offences. The penalties under this Act have not changed since it was enacted more than 20 years ago. They no longer represent a sufficient deterrent, especially when compared to penalties for many other environmental offences.

Given the potential for persistent breaches of the smoky coal ban to cause significant air pollution in urban areas, with consequent adverse impacts on health and quality of life for those living in those areas, it is important that a credible range of penalties is in place to deter such breaches. Therefore, sections 3 and 4 of the Bill update the penalty provisions of the Air Pollution Act 1987 by reference to the classes set out in the Fines Act 2010. They provide for: on summary conviction - a class A fine of up to €5,000 or 6 months imprisonment or a daily class E fine or up to €500, for continuing offences to a maximum of €5,000; and on conviction on indictment - fines of €500,000 or 2 years imprisonment or a daily fine of up to €10,000 for continuing offences. There is also provision for the payment of graduated fixed penalties up to €1,000 for an offence under section 53.

The fixed penalties will relate to breaches of the Air Pollution Act, 1987 (Marketing, Sale and Distribution of Fuels) Regulations 1998, specifically the following regulations: regulation 3(1) in relation to the marketing, sale or distribution of bituminous coal within a ban area - payment of €1,000; regulation 3(2) in relation to the transport of bituminous coal within a ban area - payment of €500; regulation 4 in relation to the requirement for bags of solid fuel to be sealed and appropriately labelled - payment of €500; regulation 6 in relation to the requirement on fuel merchants located within a ban area to maintain a register of fuels stored at and transported from the premises - payment of €500; and regulation 7 in relation to the requirement on the owners of vehicles used to transport banned fuels within a ban area to produce a statement of the fuels being transported, including suppliers, destination and purchasers - payment of €250.

Part 3 amends the Waste Management Act 1996, as amended. It allows for greater flexibility in setting the plastic bag levy rate and the landfill levy rate. It is not my intention to increase the existing levy of 22 cent on plastic bags at this point. I will keep the matter of setting the levy at an appropriate rate under review. To accomplish this, a greater flexibility is required in the setting of the plastic bag levy, an environmental charge which set the example for best international practice. At the current time, amendments to the rate of the levy are limited to changes in the consumer price index only. This hinders a Minister's ability to respond with the appropriate amount of flexibility to changes in consumer usage of plastic bags and the extent to which they end up as litter.

The level of plastic bag usage can fluctuate and to provide an effective mechanism to respond to these changes, I am introducing section 5 of this Bill. It will amend the provisions of the Waste Management Act which deal with the plastic bag levy by providing that the ceiling be set at an absolute limit of 70 cent. This limit is designed to allow for increases to the levy for a number of years and is provided for in the amendment to section 72(3). It also provides the mechanism by which the levy rate may be increased through the insertion of a new subsection 72(3)(a) which will allow the application of the consumer price index and a discretionary application of not greater than 10% in any one year, provided that the absolute ceiling of 70 cent is not exceeded. Any amendment to the rate of the plastic bag levy will be for the purposes of preventing the generation of waste and a reduction in the use of plastic bags. The existing power to amend the rate of interest charged on unpaid levies is to be removed.

I spoke about the importance of ensuring that the landfill levy acts as an effective deterrent against recyclable waste being sent to landfill and contributes to meeting our landfill directive obligations. I have also provided certainty to the sector through the details I announced earlier regarding the extent and timing of the increases in the levy over the course of the period to mid-2013. Existing legislation is not adequate to allow for these changes to be made as it provides that the landfill levy may only be increased by a maximum of €5 per tonne in any one year.

Section 6, therefore, will amend section 73 of the Waste Management Act 1996 by providing that the levy may be increased once in any given financial year, subject to a maximum increase of €50 per tonne. It also provides for an absolute limit on the levy of €120 per tonne. In addition, section 6 inserts similar provisions in regard to interest charged on unpaid levies as is already provided for under the plastic bag levy, namely, that interest on late returns be liable on a daily basis.

Sections 7 and 8 provide for creation of a waste facility levy chargeable on incineration of waste classed either as disposal or recovery for the purposes of preventing the generation of waste and the reduction of the quantity of waste disposed of or submitted for recovery. I have been reviewing the provisions of the Bill relating to the waste facility levy, in light of the transposition of the waste framework directive. I will make my decisions known on these provisions on Committee Stage.

In Part 4, Section 9 provides for an amendment to the Third Schedule to the Freedom Of Information Act by the addition to the Schedule of section 16 of the Air Pollution Act 1987, which relates to the non-disclosure of information. This means that information obtained by a local authority in connection with its enforcement of the Air Pollution Act will be brought within the scope of the Freedom of Information Acts.

Section 16 of the Air Pollution Act 1987 contains a prohibition on giving information obtained by a local authority on fuels or other materials burned or other details of processes or activities, to any person other than a prescribed person. Under Section 32 of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003, a record can be refused where its disclosure is prohibited by any enactment. However, if this enactment is included in the Third Schedule to the Freedom of Information Act, the non-disclosure provision cannot be used to refuse records following an FOI request. The non-disclosure provision continues to apply outside of FOI. Listing in the Third Schedule does not mean that records will be automatically released; all of the substantial exemptions and protections within FOI must first be applied.

It is my intention to introduce, on Committee and Report Stage, amendments to address a number of other matters. These amendments will be designed to complete the legislative requirements necessary to allow Ireland to ratify the Aarhus Convention, make a number of revisions to the Planning and Development Acts and the Local Government Acts, to introduce further revisions to the Waste Management Acts and Air Pollution Acts, and to provide for a number of technical revisions to this Bill.

This Bill represents the first phase in providing much needed certainty to the waste sector and reflects the Government's intention to ensure the development of an efficient, effective and diverse waste management sector. In developing the Bill, a regulatory impact analysis was undertaken, and the Bill was also the subject of a full public consultation. I thank all those who contributed to those processes. I look forward to engaging with the range of stakeholders as I work towards finalisation of a new waste policy by the end of this year. By allowing for meaningful increases in the landfill levy, this Bill will contribute to ensuring that Ireland does not face fines for breaching the limits set in the landfill directive and will provide a further catalyst for the development of alternatives to landfill.

This Bill is being introduced at an extremely challenging time in this country. However, when taken together with other measures I have outlined, the Bill will drive waste from landfill and assist in creating jobs in the alternative waste infrastructure to be provided.

Much has been said since 2007 about waste management policy, but little has been brought to a conclusion. However, a number of things are certain. If we do not meet our EU obligations, Ireland will face significant fines. If the alternatives to landfill are not put in place we will not meet our EU obligations. If we do not provide certainty, those alternatives will not be provided and Ireland will not be in a position to manage its waste in a sustainable manner. The Bill before the House and the announcements I have made today are crucial steps in addressing this situation.

I therefore commend this Bill to the House.

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