John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I remain committed to building on the success of recycling in recent years despite the recent downturn in recyclable markets. I am glad to say there is now evidence of some market recovery, particularly for good-quality segregated material.

I raised the issue at the Environment Council in Brussels on 4 December 2008 and 12 member states supported my intervention. The European Commission has undertaken to carry out a review of the matter and to revert to us with options for action. Ireland also raised the issue at the December meeting of the EU Technical Committee on Packaging Waste. At our suggestion, a database of outlets for such material is being compiled by this committee.

On 31 October 2008, I announced the establishment of an action group to examine the matter and report within 2 weeks. Arising from the report I decided that a number of sub-groups should be established to drive action on issues such as quality and development of best practice, licensing and enforcement, and public infrastructure.

The storage of recyclables and any associated costs are a matter for the owners of the material. No funding has been provided by my Department for such storage, nor is it envisaged that it will do so in 2009.

See this speech in context