Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate Deputy Tully raising this important issue on the practicality of the new return scheme and how it will work for everybody, and where there are difficulties, how they will be addressed and fixed. This scheme has obviously been in development for a number of years. To inform the design of the scheme, the Department undertook two public consultations in 2020 and 2021 on how it should operate. Since its appointment as the DRS operator in July 2022, Re-Turn has consulted widely with stakeholders to help prepare for the introduction of the deposit return scheme. We are obliged under the single-use plastics directive to recycle 90% of our plastic bottles by 2029, so we have a practical problem about how we are going to do that.

It is a national infrastructure project, which operates primarily on a return to retail model, but the Deputy highlights the issue of how you are supposed to manage this if you have received them by delivery. That is quite a practical example. Retailers are required to charge customers a deposit for the bottle sold, and to take back empty containers and refund the deposit to customers, as the Deputy well knows. Retailers are also required to ensure the take-back facility they provide is accessible for anybody wishing to return empty containers. I understand Re-Turn continues to engage widely with all stakeholders and has committed to reviewing accessibility practices concerning the needs of consumers. This is an early problem that has been highlighted and that I will certainly highlight to my ministerial and constituency colleague, Deputy Ossian Smyth, to get a further answer. However, I understand the review being conducted includes working with the National Disability Authority. The authority is supporting Re-Turn on the establishment of a consultative group to ensure the concerns of all parties, in particular those who have identified difficulties accessing the deposit return scheme and in returning bottle and cans, are heard and addressed. I hope that will be as soon as may be. I understand Re-Turn intends to convene the first meeting of this forum in the second half of March, in the next number of weeks. It has invited a number of disability organisations to assist in a review of the scheme's infrastructure. I hope the Deputy will also have an opportunity to contribute to that in some way.

The deposit return scheme represents one of the biggest efforts at changing consumer behaviour in some decades. Inclusivity is essential if it is going to work. An extensive national communications campaign is under way to ensure every member of the public is aware of and understands what DRS is and how it operates. I am told individuals who have difficulties returning bottles and cans to their local retailer should contact Re-Turn directly and it will work with the local retail community to find a solution that works for all involved. Re-Turn is committed to ensuring locations are accessible, but it will need feedback from people like Deputy Tully, constituency TDs and me to highlight where there are practical issues, as there will be with the roll-out of any new scheme like this. In answer to the Deputy's question, I have not tried to return anything yet, but now that we have discussed it tonight, I definitely will tomorrow.

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