Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

Certainly. The then Minister, Dick Roche, increased the levy. If I remember rightly, he would have liked to have increased it further but the existing legislation did not permit him to do so. As I am deviating slightly from my two colleagues, Senator Keane will probably get to her feet again to say we should have uniformity of policy. Our previous experience in this regard influenced me to ask the Minister earlier whether this levy continues to be fit for purpose. If I understood him correctly, the Minister said he was reasonably satisfied the levy is working well. I wonder if it is as effective now as it was when it was introduced. Like the smoking ban, it was very effective initially. I understand the national smoking average decreased to 22% but has since increased to approximately 29%. I wonder if the use of plastic bags has increased similarly despite the levy. I appreciate that we have had a significant increase in population since the levy was first introduced. That might indicate there is now a greater usage of plastic bags.

I am a little concerned. I hope the Minister will confirm that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is continuing to monitor the effectiveness of the levy, regardless of the price that is put on it. People get used to a particular price. I also asked a rhetorical question about whether some supermarket groups are absorbing the levy and not passing it on to the customer. I must confess I have got into the habit of not always looking at my receipt at the checkout to check whether I have been charged for a plastic bag. Like everybody else, I am human and I sometimes forget to bring a recyclable bag to the supermarket. I am left with no option but to purchase a plastic bag. I do not always look at the bill to see whether I have been charged.

The Minister might have a view on Senator Ó Clochartaigh's point about the proliferation of packaging that is used by manufacturers for the most minimal of products. This age-old problem is not unique to Ireland - it is found throughout the EU. I appreciate we cannot act unilaterally in this regard. I would be interested in the Minister's views, if any, on how we can make progress with reducing the amount of unnecessary packaging. I understand an organisation in Ireland has pledged to try to achieve such a reduction. Perhaps some initiatives are being taken to solve the problem of excessive packaging, which bothers everybody. When one buys small electrical goods like batteries, one often finds they are surrounded by about ten yards of packaging because they are supposed to be safe. It drives people to distraction. My efforts to open such packages drive me to distraction. They are a blight on the environment. Some sort of collective move should be made to reduce the amount of packaging used. Much more needs to be done.

All of us welcome the existence of the plastic bag levy. We are pleased that it is proving to be effective. I have added a caveat by expressing my concern that it might not be as effective as it was. Is the amount of money being charged continuing to act as the disincentive it was when this measure was initiated?