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

Our national approach to date for dealing with waste packaging has been based on the extended producer responsibility principle, EPR. This principle seeks to ensure that the producer of a product bears a significant portion of the cost of dealing with the waste disposal of the product it supplies. In Ireland, this has been done very effectively through a producer-funded compliance scheme, operated by Repak. Similar schemes operate in other waste streams such as batteries, waste electronic and electrical goods, farm plastics and the latest, which I launched earlier this year, to deal with end-of-life vehicles.

In a review of all these schemes in 2014, it was concluded that Ireland has achieved great success in recent years in recovering and recycling packaging waste. Recycling of drinks containers in Ireland is already one of the highest in Europe. Glass is at 86% which means only 14% of glass is not recycled.

More than 84% of plastic, or 237,000 tonnes, was recycled and recovered in 2015. Based on Deputy Eamon Ryan's costs and Deputy Brendan Howlin’s recycling rates, we would spend €276 million to collect an additional four out of 100 glass bottles and six out of every 100 plastics. I could find a better use for that money. I am open to examining any proposal which would assist us in our efforts to reduce waste and avoid littering and dumping which I said I regard as environmental treason. Littering is a crime. It is doubly so because the scarce resources committed to combating it are needed elsewhere.

I have made €9 million available this year to local authorities to deal with waste regulations enforcement and an additional €1.3 million to fund my anti-dumping initiative. In a modern society where everything is available all year round at every price point, a new insight is required into how we can live within the capacity of the planet in the materials we consume and the waste we must manage. I am open to any suggestion that is workable and practical. We have a number of initiatives for consideration in this area, including the proposal from Fianna Fáil Senator Catherine Ardagh for dealing with litter, the intention of which I also support. The best way to deal with these proposals is to look at them in an holistic way rather than adopt the current scattergun approach. That is why the proper place in which to examine all of these issues, including the proposals brought forward in the Bill, is the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment.

The international review of waste management policy, published in 2009, was a major review of waste management policy in Ireland. The report was commissioned by the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Green Party leader, John Gormley. It reported on a deposit refund scheme that "the evidence is not sufficiently strong to support a recommendation of this nature, principally because the information regarding implementation costs is not such that the costs can be said to unequivocally justify the benefits". As Minister, I am looking for actions that will deliver real efficiency and sustainability. The committee can take the views of stakeholders, scrutinise the Bill and look at the complexities and costings involved, as well as the implications for existing EU law. I want to work with colleagues on all sides of the House to deal with the issue. I agree with the principle of what is being proposed and intend to work with the Labour Party, the Green Party and the Fianna Fáil Party on its legislation and Deputy Brian Stanley on whatever legislation he proposes to bring forward. Let us move forward together to deal with the proposals in a comprehensive manner through the committee system.

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