Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

-----because in the last Dáil I had the brief of local government and environment. We had Phil Hogan, Deputy Alan Kelly and Deputy Denis Naughten. If the Minister does anything, he needs to make a start with this. The game is up in terms of plastic. I congratulate the Green Party for bringing this issue forward again. The consequences are absolutely horrific. It is constant and it is doing huge damage to our environment. We need to face it now, not later. Plastic was the so-called great material of the 20th century but it has turned out to be the scourge of the 21st century. If we do not act and put new policies in place we are going to face a problem which we will not be able to overcome.

We in Sinn Féin support practical action on plastic pollution, and indeed on other pollution. We are not just highlighting the problem or calling it out. We put forward a comprehensive Bill last year which outlined the establishment of a deposit return scheme as called for in this motion. The Sinn Féin Bill had other provisions on illegal dumping, household bin collection and so on. While I recognise that the Green Party Bill is limited in detail, we are prepared to work with the party on Committee Stage in order to improve it. There is very little in the Bill in terms of how the deposit scheme would work. We had some more information tonight in the motion. The proposal is good and we need to move ahead with it.

The policy of reduce, reuse and recycle is needed now more than ever. The Minister talked a lot about recycling but recycling is only the second least worst option. We need to reduce at source, or eliminate at source where we can. We need to reuse. Recycling is way down the chain. It is good if it is the only option open to us, but we need to take other actions first such as eliminating waste at source or reusing.

We have to ask how we are dealing with the waste. Of course the Chinese market is now closed. We can no longer dump it on the Chinese. Other states like Thailand and Vietnam are also moving in the same direction. What do we do? Do we find another country to which to ship our waste or do we deal with it ourselves? We see that essential change is needed in how we treat the environment. There is a vital need to combat climate change at all levels. We in Sinn Féin put forward Bills on waste reduction and microgeneration, an extensive paper on biogas, and a policy document, Powering Ireland 2030, all in the last number of months. We see this motion tonight as essential and as another part of working with other parties in the Dáil to get that necessary action.

We in Sinn Féin do not see this as creating a big burden. Phil Hogan and some of the other Ministers looked at it in that way. They said there was a recession and that we had to deal with that first. This should be seen as a way of getting out of recession. We will actually be dragged into a recession if we do not try to adopt and build new, green, sustainable industries and get rid of the old industries. That is what we need to do. We need to build our image as a green island. We should be a leader. We should not be behind with everything as we are at the moment in respect of climate change, the production of plastic and a whole lot of other things.

The figures in terms of plastic pollution are immense and horrific and cannot be overstated. They have been outlined here tonight in great detail. It is estimated that 2% to 5% of all plastic produced finishes up in the seas and oceans. A study released by the National University of Ireland, Galway, last year found that 70% of deep sea fish sampled in the north Atlantic had ingested plastic. Some 80% of the prawn population in Dublin Bay has ingested plastic. It is a nice thought, is it not? The pollution problem also affects our rivers and beaches. Without action there may be more plastic than fish by weight by 2020. A report by the Environment Agency Austria today shows that microplastics are being found in the human digestive system and suggests that this could affect the immune response and aid transmission of toxic chemicals. That is a terrible thing to state. In August a report conducted by An Taisce highlighted the shocking fact that only 8% of Irish water was judged as clean. Ireland is the top producer of plastic in the European Union. I mentioned our record in terms of greenhouse gas emissions earlier. We are laggards rather than being out in front. It is estimated that 983,280 tonnes of packaging waste was generated in 2015, that is almost 1 million tonnes. Some 528,000 plastic cups are disposed of every day, many of them on roadways around the State. Some 32% of plastics escape collection systems. Where is all that going?

Once this plastic is in the environment it is difficult to extract it. Earlier speakers mentioned Tidy Towns committees, community groups and people in rural areas picking up plastic. If one walks along any country road, particularly after Christmas when the vegetation starts dying back, one will see the full horrors of what is being dumped on the roadsides. The problem is the length of time it will take to decompose. The other real problem is that 90% of plastics are derived from fossil fuels, which means that the scourge of plastic has a double negative effect in terms of carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions because it is produced from oil and fossil fuels and there are also emissions from the production process. It has a double whammy.

We have to remember that a deposit return scheme will not solve all of these problems in itself. Neither will a ban on single-use plastics. However, it is a significant part of the bigger picture. The bigger pieces of the jigsaw need to be put together. The many elements need to be put together so that they can work together to create the change and revolution that is necessary. Banning single-use plastics and establishing deposit return schemes deal with the end of the chain.

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This is the key. We have to stop the conveyer belt of machines that are churning out plastic and feeding it into society. There are millions of tonnes of it and we need to concentrate on that. We need to put a halt on the manufacturers and stop the unnecessary waste at source. The best way of dealing with a problem - I think the Minister will agree - is to not create it in the first place. The easiest way to solve a problem is to not have the problem. While I am not naive enough to think we can do it overnight, we have to change. The Government is delaying. I agree with the Green Party on this. It is very frustrating. Nearly eight years ago, I spoke to the former Minister, Commissioner Phil Hogan, about this and here we are all this time later. We cannot put it off any longer.

It is not a huge technological problem. Other countries have these schemes up and running. We will go at our own expense to the other countries and talk to the people. I am willing to do it as part of a delegation from the Dáil. We will go and look at how it works in other countries. It cannot be rocket science. We all see it working in other countries when we go on holidays. Let us do that and put a scheme in place. We cannot keep denying that we have this issue and claiming it is terribly complicated to deal with. I do not want to oversimplify the matter but the scheme I put forward would not impose a cost on the Exchequer as it would be self-financing. This one can be as well. There is no reason we cannot do this. We have to try to move on this very soon. Government policies need to change, householders have a role to play and I have a role to play as a citizen. I will not use the word "consumer", which I have banned from my house. I wish to God we could ban it here as well because we need to start talking about people and citizens. We are not consumers at the end of a conveyor belt. We need to impose an obligation on the manufacturer as a starting point. Each of us must play a role. We can start by handing back packaging and taking out all the rubbish that comes in the newspapers and leaving it in the shops. We do not need to bring it home with us. We must reduce waste at source and eliminate it.

I welcome that the motion refers to medical devices because an exception has to be made for syringes and other equipment that is needed. Many people need single use plastic for medical reasons on a daily basis. We need to provide for that and protect it. The switch from plastics in society is necessary and urgent. That is the message I want to give to the Minister who is new in his position. This material was not as widespread 50 years ago. In fact there was hardly any of it. We can look ahead by taking a quick look back at how we managed without it. We can plan for change. The Government needs to think and act differently and put policies and practices in place to end plastic and create alternatives. The good news is that the Minister has the Opposition with him, as he is hearing tonight. This is not something on which he has to come in and battle with us on. The game is up for plastic and it will also be up for a Government and political parties that do not take it into consideration.

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