Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Ireland is the top producer of plastic waste in Europe. We generate an average of 61 kg per person each year, almost double the rate for the UK. We produce the equivalent of nearly 2,000 water bottles and 5,550 disposable coffee cups per person annually. Some 30% of the EU's plastic is recycled but the equivalent figure in Ireland is 34%. Incineration accounts for 39% and landfill for 31%. More than 60% of plastic waste still comes from packaging, but only 40% of this is recycled. Ireland generated 282,148 tonnes of plastic packaging waste in 2015. China accepted 7 million tonnes of the world's plastic scrap in 2016, which was more than half of all the waste plastic exported globally that year. That market is now closed. These are some statistics I took from newspaper articles and from information provided by environmental groups that have been collecting such information for a long time.

Plastic waste represents a major challenge for the public, the Government and legislators. It must be tackled. If it was not for our Tidy Towns initiative and the people and community groups involved, the amount of plastic lying around towns and villages in rural areas would be ten times worse.

In supporting the Waste Reduction Bill, Fianna Fáil will continue to work to make this happen and to do the right thing. We introduced the plastic bag levy and we introduced Repak. We are prepared to do things to make the environment better. I assure the Minister, as a rural Deputy, that if I was to show him the amount of emails I have gotten from my constituents he would not believe it. It is an issue the Irish public wants tackled. We have a duty and responsibility to answer that call and to respond.

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