Mr. Matthew Collins:

I was asked if it would be accepted in Europe. I certainly hope it would be accepted. Negotiations will have to take place in the European Parliament and at Council. I hope it will proceed quickly. I think it has already been prioritised by the Austrian Presidency as one of the issues it wants to progress as quickly as possible. I am sure there will be considerable support in the European Parliament. Member states have, at both official and ministerial level, been pushing this action very vociferously for a long time with the European Commission.

I was asked how we would respond. That is the normal way we approach much of the legislation that would appear. The Commission is very clear that it is open to member states as to how they reach whatever targets are set. The Commission's proposal is open in that sense. It could be an extended producer-responsibility scheme as we currently operate and which has been operating very successfully or it could be a deposit-and-return scheme. Both options are on the table. In that sense, it is slightly different from the Bill. I know we are not discussing the Bill, but the Deputy mentioned it. The Bill provides for it to be mandatory, whereas the Commission's proposal leaves it open to the member states to determine the scheme most suitable to their circumstances. They recognise that the same-structure schemes have different types of performance levels in different member states. We need to understand how to achieve that target. We do not have a preconceived view that it must be done in a particular way; we want to discover what options would actually deliver on the targets.