Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My apologies for temporarily leaving the House. I was in the other House listening to Senator O'Sullivan's Green Party colleague speaking on the Local Government (Mayor and Regional Authority of Dublin) Bill 2016. We are going to do this. There are fundamental problems with the microbeads Bill, which I will outline. This does not mean I do not share the view that we need to ban the use of microbeads and implement a series of other measures to protect the marine environment, which we are committed to doing and which we will do within months. This is not going to go on ice. I will happily involve Senator O'Sullivan in the process. I know something about the Senator's background regarding understanding and protecting the marine environment, which is where she comes from politically. There are others in the House who care about the marine environment, and I happen to be one of them.

I am not going to pass legislation that we are going to have problems with in our efforts to resolve the issue. The Bill has triggered my Department. On this week's agenda, we must deal with a proposal to ban microbeads, which is something I did not know much about, although I know a lot about marine litter and plastics. This week I launched a new green flag module around global citizenship and marine litter. I was previously the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. There are approximately 6.2 trillion particles of litter in our oceans. That is 1,000 particles for every person on the planet. There are approximately 100 million tonnes of marine litter in our oceans. This is having a devastating consequence on marine ecosystems everywhere. In the middle of the Pacific ocean, there is a garbage patch that is twice the size of Texas. This rubbish has gathered there as a result of ocean currents.

I have had, and will continue to have, progressive conversations with European Commissioner Karmenu Vella, who is deeply committed to the issue. We will introduce legislation next year, to deal with the issue, which I have learned much more about due to the proposals in the legislation. Our legislation will also deal with some of the broader issues regarding dumping at sea and some of the measures we can take, such as designating areas at sea as marine conservation zones, which we will do next year, as well as moving on the issues the Senator is pinpointing in the legislation to ban the use of microbeads in cosmetic products. I am happy to do it, we have signalled we are going to do it, and we have already signalled that we want an EU-wide ban. I ask the Senator to please accept my bona fides. I am not seeking to stymie it. It was frustrating for me to look at social media, where I am being attacked on the issue, as if I am blocking it or undermining what the Green Party is trying to do.It is not the right thing to do.