Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

There may be a defence by the Government on this to the effect that there are Single Market implications for the introduction of legislation of this nature. I appreciate that the then Minister communicated with Commissioner Vella. I am not sure what the status of that interaction is at present but there is a precedent when the former Minister for Health, Deputy Micheál Martin, introduced the smoking ban. It could have been argued at that time that it could have run contrary to some of the treaty provisions relating to the Single Market but as it was subsequently deemed successful as a measure, the same could apply here. The important point is that a number of countries have signed up to the principle of banning microplastics. This goes as far back as December 2014 in respect of the Netherlands, Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium and Sweden. A joint press statement was released by these countries calling for the ban and the political willingness is there. Regarding the communication from the Commission, I have not seen a legislative proposal or Commission proposal as of yet regarding this issue. It may be there; I may have missed it. However, I believe, as Senator Grace O'Sullivan said, that there is a strong willingness within the community for Ireland to take a lead on that and that is the main purpose of the legislation.