Mr. Thomas Cooney:

I thank the committee for inviting the IFA to address you today on the Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations 2017.

The management of waste tyres is to be funded through the visible Environmental Management Cost, vEMC. The IFA has previously made submissions to agencies including Repak expressing the view that this funding model effectively allows tyre manufacturers to sidestep their obligations, as defined in the producers responsibility principle.

This front-loaded model, where the full vEMC is paid at point of purchase by the consumer, places an unacceptable and disproportionate cost burden for the management and disposal of waste tyres to the end user, namely farm families, rather than the companies that put the product on the market. IFA members, particularly in north eastern and north western counties have also raised the issue of VAT and vEMC evasion, which could occur unless the Department can secure a commitment to introduce a similar scheme in Northern Ireland. While the majority of people may act legally, it is not acceptable that they should subsidise and pay for the minority that seek to evade paying VAT or vEMC. Therefore, the long-term success of this tyre initiative can only be achieved if a similar scheme is introduced in Northern Ireland.

Regarding waste tyres used on farm machinery, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment has decided not to introduce a vEMC until it better understands the various types of tyres used in the sector. However, from the outset it has always been made clear to IFA that this vEMC would be cost neutral to the sector, with the cost being no greater than existing charges paid by farmers. The Department must set out the basis of how this will be achieved.

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, has allocated €1 million to clean up the stockpiles of waste tyres, which are illegally dumped around the countryside and this is welcome. However, it does not address an underlying issue in the Litter Pollution Acts, which has seen local authorities in counties including Kilkenny and Kerry instructing farmers to clean up the mess of serial dumpers, under section 6(2) of the Litter Pollution Acts. I hope the committee members would agree that it is wrong that there is legislation which effectively criminalises me as a farmer and holds me responsible for dumping by others on my farm. We are asking members to change this and to instead increase the enforcement powers of environmental officers in local authorities to pursue and prosecute serial dumpers who recklessly dump tyres, construction rubble and household litter across the countryside.

Waste tyres have particular uses on many farms: to anchor silage pits, reduce silage spoilage and ultimately to protect polythene covers. However, some farmers also switch from pit silage to round bales when conserving grass. Often farmers paid for the transport and receipt of these waste tyres when they were delivered to the farms. It is important the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment would provide an allocation to address the situation where farmers need to move these tyres off farms. I welcome the willingness of the Department to identify a solution here.

I ask the Committee to closely examine and seek to address the concerns which the IFA has raised here.