Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the European Commission set out a whole series of new rules to discourage single-use plastics across the EU. The rules have been put forward to the Parliament and are proposed to be obligatory. They mirror exactly the provisions contained in our Waste Reduction Bill 2017. Last week the committee voted to put that Bill through to Committee Stage.

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It is clear that no cost would be incurred by the Exchequer in implementing the provisions, yet the requirement for a money message has still been attached to it. Will the Government allow it to proceed to Committee Stage in order that we might debate how it will be implemented and listen to what the European Commission states needs to be done in what it yesterday described as a race to the top? According to it, there is urgency attached to states doing this work. We have the legislation and carried out the analysis.

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