Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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In one of my first contributions in the Dáil, I asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to investigate the possibility of banning the sale of drinks in glass containers from off-licences. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, agreed to consider the suggestion. Unfortunately, he discovered that an EU directive prevented him from implementing it. I am now approaching the problem from a different direction.

Would it be possible to introduce a system - in the case of glass, reintroduce a system - of providing refunds? If people bought bottles of beer, they could return them once they were empty and receive refunds. In some countries on the Continent, for example, Germany, the practice is to return plastic bottles. The plastic used there is much stronger than the type we use, making it possible to clean and reuse them without breaking them down. It should be possible to do the same in Ireland. Would it be possible to provide refunds in respect of aluminium cans? Doing so might be more problematic, but I would be interested in the Minister of State's response.

I am not trying to pretend that this would be the entire solution to our litter problem. In these difficult economic times, however, it would encourage people who discard these receptacles in public places not to do so. It would also encourage people to collect receptacles. Perhaps this is just a straw in the wind. I was asked to raise the issue a couple of weeks ago by the local Clondalkin Tidy Towns committee. In Clondalkin and the neighbouring areas of Palmerstown and Lucan, there are growing numbers of groups that are trying to set up tidy district committees with some considerable success. There is a long tradition of this in rural areas and villages, but it is more difficult to organise in a city. A measure along the lines of what I have proposed would help the committees. People would become less likely to discard their rubbish and, if they did, others who collected it would receive payment. I thank everyone who gets involved in tidy district initiatives in such a selfless way.

My suggestion would have a number of advantages for my community and the country generally. It would help to tidy up the country and would constitute a green move, in that glass, plastic and aluminium could be more effectively recycled. It would help to boost tourism, given the fact that litter and dirt are the most persistent causes of complaints among tourists. Life would be much easier for sports people and everyone who uses open public areas.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Dowds for raising this issue. The 2010 national litter pollution monitoring system report indicated that glass and plastic containers accounted for 2.86% of the country's national litter composition. Directive 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and the Council on packaging and packaging waste, termed the packaging directive, classifies items such as bottles, drink cans and plastic containers as packaging. The packaging directive is based on the concept of producer responsibility, which effectively requires producers to contribute to the waste management costs of products that they have placed on the market.

Under the directive, Ireland's requirement to achieve a 60% recovery rate for packaging waste in 2011 has already been exceeded and, in 2010, a recovery rate of 74% was achieved. The material-specific recycling targets of 60% for glass, 50% for metals and 22.5% for plastics had also been achieved by 2010, with recycling rates of 78%, 63% and 39%, respectively.

I fully recognise that, despite progress on recycling, we need to continue to improve our performance, which is the Deputy's point. The programme for Government contains a commitment to drive a waste reduction programme as part of the overall policy in the area of sustainable waste management. One of the possible elements of this waste reduction strategy, which is contained in the programme, is the introduction of a levy on packaging. In 2011 my Department commenced a process of consultation with industry, other stakeholders and the public on the possibility of introducing a levy on packaging. The main issues examined in this initial consultation were as follows - the overall views of stakeholders on a packaging levy; how a packaging levy might be operated; international experiences of similar levies; and how a packaging levy might be structured in order to contribute to a reduction in packaging waste.

While submissions acknowledged the achievements Ireland has made in recycling packaging, there is recognition that aspects of the current system need to be reviewed, as is best practice for all long-standing agreements, to ensure that the structure remains as efficient as possible and continues to deliver the best possible results for Ireland in terms of packaging recycling and recovery performance. To this end, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government has determined that the issue should be given further consideration in the context of a review of the producer responsibility initiative model to inform the policy development process which is now under way and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. It may be useful to include the Deputy's views in the review and I would be happy to pass his comments to the Minister.

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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I am glad that progress has been made in dealing with packaging waste but problems remain. The angle from which I approach the issue is my concern about waste in public areas such as football pitches, where broken glass can cause problems for players. It is appalling that people who give up their time to train soccer teams must carefully walk the pitch before a match starts to clear it of glass. I would welcome any initiative that tries to put an end to that problem.

I do not dispute the impressive figures on waste reduction but I urge the Minister of State and the Minister to consider a refund system that would encourage people to recycle glass and plastic bottles. It could become an effective means of reusing material. People are more open to this idea than they were during the boom years of the Celtic tiger, when they did not care about small amounts of money. I acknowledge that the Minister of State is prepared to take account of my suggestions in the review and I would like them to be part of the mix.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The concept of a deposit and refund system can certainly be included In the review. Everybody would agree it is dreadful that people have to ensure the grounds used for sporting or community events, or for children's play, are clear of broken glass bottles and other litter. We want to do all we can in this regard and if a deposit and refund scheme can be shown to be effective in reducing the amount of material thrown away rather than recycled, it would make a positive impact. If the Deputy wishes to submit his views in more detail I am sure they will be considered in the review.