Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State dealt with one arm of my contribution, which was the issue of virgin plastic tax elsewhere. We need to keep an eye on that. The point is that we are subsidising companies here and supporting them financially to export. They are being subsidised to the point that the business model means it is profitable to export. We are not competitive here and we are not competitive in other markets either.

This is the solution. If the Government is not going to introduce a virgin plastic tax here, will it take away the subsidy for people to export? It is not recycling; it is exporting for recycling. One cannot be looked at without the other because they are directly related to each other. It is a fundamental point regarding the development of a proper sustainable industry on this island.

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