Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

There is an error in the directive in that it does not make any rule for the size of the item. I suggested to the WEEE register that it is difficult to explain, particularly when people are buying small electronic goods, why the cost should be €2, for example, for a small item. The industry explained to me that the cost of dismantling a small item can be as great as the cost of dismantling a big item. I take the Deputy's point and I suggested to the WEEE register that this issue should be examined. The cost on a fluorescent tube is just 50 cent but it is much more difficult to get rid of than some smaller items.

The Deputy asked if there should be a national collection day. This is a good idea and I will look at how to transmit it to local authorities. The tonnage coming through the scheme is amazing. We saw it last week in the Deputy's constituency where a group of entrepreneurs have come together and for the first time there is a fully integrated recycling system for cathode ray tubes which were previously going into landfill. The environmental benefits are tremendous. Seven people are working on the scheme which we did not think of a month or two months ago.

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