Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to speak about plastics pollution. As the weather brightens, thankfully, and more of us can take a walk on the local strand, in the local forest or along the many roads, the prevalence of plastics throughout the country is glaring at us in the face. There is no way around it - we must dramatically reduce plastics production and the pollution that emanates from it.

Waste reduction is an area in which I am proud to say that Fianna Fáil has made a huge mark. Fianna Fáil made Ireland the first country to introduce a levy on plastic bags. This policy has been emulated by countries throughout the globe and it has kept millions of plastic bags out of our hedgerows, oceans, landfill sites and countryside. We also introduced legislation to phase out single-use non-compostable tableware. Unfortunately, the measures have been stalled by this Government.

While in government, Fianna Fáil introduced Repak, a not-for-profit company that supports recycling. The operation has had a major impact on recycling rates in Ireland, which increased from 15% to 66% between 1997 and 2011. That was more than a fourfold increase and one this Government has completely failed to match. Instead, the Government has seen the amount that Ireland sends to landfill rise exponentially. This is totally unnecessary. Never before have there been so many options to reduce packaging and process waste away from landfill, yet the Government is letting us slide into creating more and more waste, which in turn will eventually require more and more landfill. The option of exporting our waste to China and elsewhere is no longer possible because of the approaches those countries are taking in respect of imported waste.

We are all aware of the terrible impact plastic packaging and pollution has on our environment. Each year approximately 8 million tonnes of plastics flow into the oceans. I imagine many of us were shocked by Blue Planet II, which showed how plastic pollution even affects waters and oceans that are thousands of miles from land. Plastics pollution impacts the ability of marine life to thrive. It completely destroys complex ecosystems, which we will never recover. Pollution has an extraordinary impact on human life too. It is estimated that billions of people ingest plastic either by drinking polluted water supplies or by consuming seafood that has ingested plastic.

There are more earthly reasons to reject excessive packaging. Packaging is neither free to produce nor to dispose of and it is producers and consumers who must bear the cost. The McKinsey consultancy firm has shown how consumer goods companies can reduce overall packaging costs by 10% by making simple design changes. We all know from paying household bin charges how expensive it is to dispose of waste. All too often people choose to dispose of their waste freely in the ditches and scenic spots around our towns, cities and countryside. It is estimated that approximately 60 tonnes of waste are dumped illegally in Ireland every day.

If we accept that the reasons to act are pressing, how should we go about reducing waste? It is my belief that individual consumer behaviour can only go so far in reducing the volume of waste that is sent to landfill and produced each year. We could have 100% compliance in recycling our recyclable waste, but this is worth little if we do not drastically cut the amount of overall waste.

Fianna Fáil believes that more must be done to move Ireland towards a circular economy. This approach, which essentially sees resources where others see waste, is rapidly gaining momentum throughout the world as governments and businesses begin to see the many opportunities contained within it. A major study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2015 found that using a circular economy approach could boost Europe's resource productivity by 3% by 2030, generating cost savings of about €600 billion each year. We support the creation of a cross-departmental waste reduction task force that would work with stakeholders and consumers to minimise the amount of waste produced in Ireland every year.

Like the Minster, I support the EU Commission's published European strategy for plastics in the circular economy. The aims and objectives of the strategy are good but it will require implementation. I am concerned because the Government has always been good to accept strategic positions but more is needed. I imagine there will be a launch and the strategy document will be part of it, but it will be an objective to which people will look. What we really need is an aggressive implementation plan. We all know what needs to be done but it is about getting it done and putting in place the resources to ensure it happens.

On a basic level, we all know what is required. The Minister cycles, walks and spends time in the countryside. At this time of the year, the hedgerows have not regained their normal strength. Spring has been a little longer in starting this year. People are out and about. I hear in the community of how people cannot get over the amount of litter that is thrown away. The waste is made up of fast-moving consumer goods. The way these goods are displayed, the amount of packaging and the non-biodegradable nature of the goods are such that they are causing major injury to our amenities.

We need to work on behaviour and we need to improve the sanctions in place. Local authorities need to do far more in detection. There needs to be more litter wardens in every village and town. We need to use modern technology. There is much talk about drone technology being used in certain large scale dumping environments, but we need to be more aggressive about using the laws in place and pursuing people for fly-tipping, which is having a fundamental injurious impact on our environment.

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