Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To follow on from that, a good year for the IFFPG was 80% collection. It claimed that today and the last day. Its representatives are almost shouting from the rooftops that they hit 80%. That leaves 20% of the recorded plastic unaccounted for now the private contractors have gone out of the market. That is not to mention the illegal plastic, for want of a better word, that is coming in from the North and which does not have a code and is not being accounted for when the levy is collected. On the environmental aspect of that, we will not go there; it should not be here and it came in illegally but it is here now and it is going to be a problem.

We all know why we are here today. This is our second meeting on this matter. The fact is that the market for exporting or moving this plastic on has collapsed. The private contractors are going out of business. There is nothing in it for them. They were covering that slack and Mr. McDonald has admitted we were damn glad to have the private contractors because they were actually making sure the 25% to 30% we have not accounted for in our legislation or in our contract with the IFFPG was being looked after. It is now not feasible for them to do that, for commercial reasons. What is the Department's proposal to sort out that problem now, in the market we have today, and allowing for the fact there are thousands of tonnes stacked up in various yards or fields around the country? We all know how we got here. I hate the statement but we are where we are. I want to hear from the officials what the Department is proposing as a solution to solve the problem and clear the blight, going forward.