Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to Senator Bannon for raising this issue. If I rose my eyes to heaven, it is because of the amount of mythology that has been peddled in recent times by sectors of the retail trade. They are not helping their case. I wish to nail a couple of the lies that have been told, although not by the Senators.

Retailers will not need a waste licence. I met with the retailers and with the producers and they know that is the case. They will not need bonded storage areas nor will they need transportation certificates. Finally, they will not need planning permission.

The directive, which came into effect on 13 February 2003, is based on the well-established concept of producer responsibility whereby producers of goods and materials are required to take responsibility for the environmental impact of goods and services which they place on the market.

The concept imposes responsibilities on all stakeholders in the chain. It is dependent on the shared acceptance of their various responsibilities by producers, distributors and retailers, as well as central and local government. For these reasons, I have been anxious to ensure that the detailed implementation arrangements reflect the consensus view among the various stakeholders on what will work most effectively and equitably.

The draft regulations, including draft implementing regulations, which I published in April 2005, were the result of a two-year process during which the various sectoral interests worked together on the WEEE Ireland taskforce. Groups that suggest there has been no consultation are misleading the public. The consultation process, which followed the publication of the draft regulations, has crystallised some outstanding areas of disagreement between producers and retailers, especially regarding the apportionment of costs between them. There are intensive ongoing discussions between the producers and the retailers and distributors and my Department is helping to facilitate these. The outcome of this process, along with the various submissions received will all be considered before the final implementing arrangements are made.

The obligations proposed to be imposed on retailers are consistent with the WEEE directive. The provisions in the regulations are a direct transposition of the directive. Retailers are responsible for allowing a one-for-one take-back of old equipment when selling new equipment. They are then entitled to deposit such waste in collection facilities free of charge, which in our case will usually be a civic amenity site. It is only at this point that the responsibility of the producers kicks in, and they must finance the collection, treatment, recovery and disposal of the WEEE from the collection facilities.

There has been wild speculation about the burdens imposed on distributors and retailers. Suggestions that retailers will require waste permits or planning permission for their premises to allow involvement in WEEE schemes are not true. There will, however, be a straightforward registration system which will cost €20. A similar case pertains on the issue of retailers' responsibilities for costs. In fact, the WEEE directive is entirely silent on the costs incurred by the retailers in collecting, storing and transporting the material to the collection points. The provisions in our draft regulations are consistent with both the spirit and letter of the directive in this regard.

Individual retailers, in their price negotiations with the producers who supply them, may well seek contributions towards these costs, or individual producers may well offer such contributions as sales incentives. This is part of the normal commercial negotiation process and it would be unwise for me to interfere with it.

My concern is to ensure that the requirements of the directive are respected, including the availability of free take-back to the consumer and I can assure the Senators that this will be the case. We have a collective responsibility to deal with this issue. I have established a working group, consisting of representatives of the lead authority in each waste management region, to work with retailers and producers in developing pragmatic strategies for effective implementation of the directive.

The draft regulations that were debated yesterday at a meeting of Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment and Local Government provide for the insertion of enabling provisions into the Waste Management Act 1996 which will allow the Minister to make detailed implementing regulations for the operation of take-back arrangements applying to WEEE.

People think that we can put off the day when we must face up to our responsibilities. We have environmental responsibilities and I intend meeting them. Far too often, Ireland is before the courts in Europe because we are not meeting our responsibilities. There is no reason to follow the bad example of one or two other countries that are seeking derogations. There has been a series of ongoing negotiations with retailers and producers and we have listened to their concerns. In this instance, however, one particular group is not helping its cause by making extraordinary claims which are entirely unfounded.