Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The environment fund was established by the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001 and comprises revenue generated from levies that were introduced in respect of plastic bags, currently 22 cent, and waste sent to landfill sites currently at €75 per tonne.

The fund supports activities and schemes to reduce waste and to promote environmental protection and awareness. In 2017, income amounted to almost €50 million but revenue is projected to reduce significantly in the coming years as proceeds from the levies are projected to decline.

The landfill levy is projected to decrease due to capacity constraints, the thermal treatment plant at Poolbeg, and the phasing out of flat-rate fees for kerbside household waste collection, which should lead to a significant reduction in the overall quantity of waste that households produce and improved recycling rates.

Revenue from the plastic bag levy has trended downwards for a number of years and this trend accelerated in 2016 and 2017 when a major national retailer ceased offering leviable bags. The decline in levy revenues demonstrates the successful impact of the levies in modifying consumer behaviour to the benefit of environment.

The expenditure from the fund in 2018 is anticipated to be in the region of €50 million, and allocations will be approved shortly.

In 2017, environment fund allocations totalling €38.8 million were approved but the actual spend was €33.97 million. There was a surplus of €15.96 million. The money involved was spent on: schemes to prevent or reduce waste: waste recovery activities; research and development into waste management; the production, distribution and sale of products deemed to be less harmful to the environment than other similar products; the development of producer initiatives to reduce and prevent waste arising from their activities; the implementation of waste management plans; the enforcement of the provisions of any enactment relating to waste management prevention; the protection of the environment; partnership projects involving local authorities to improve the quality of the environment for particular local communities; the promotion of awareness of the need to protect the environment, including national and regional campaigns; the promotion and support of education and training to assist achievement of campaign objectives; resources, both human and material, to enable education and training to be carried out; initiatives undertaken by community groups and others for the protection of the environment; initiatives undertaken by international organisations and others for the protection of the environment and sustainable development; and such other purposes for the protection of the environment as would have been prescribed by way of regulation. I will be making an announcement soon on the allocation for this year.