Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairperson. It is nice to see him in the Chair. The Minister of State is very welcome. It is nice to see him. I thank him for coming to the House. I wish to raise an issue relating to a deposit return scheme for drinks containers. As the Minister of State will be aware, his colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, announced that such a scheme will be introduced. It is hoped that it will be introduced in the near future. I believe the introduction of a deposit return scheme represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape our relationship with the environment.

Last year, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, unveiled his vision for the design of the scheme. He announced that the scheme would only include polyethylene terephthalate, PET, plastic bottles and aluminium cans. I ask the Government to urgently reconsider that decision. To exclude materials such as glass bottles from the scheme is short-sighted in the extreme. It goes against a wealth of statistical evidence and totally ignores public opinion on this issue.

Recycling rates for glass in Ireland reduced from 86% to 78% between 2018 and 2019, meaning that close to 30 million glass bottles were not recycled. Glass is one of the most common items to pollute our beaches. It is also one of the litter items that causes most concern, particularly among parents and pet owners, because of its potential to cause injury. Broken glass causes a real hazard for local authority, private sector and voluntary clean-up crews and can contribute disproportionately to other litter-related damage such as punctures.

The current exclusion of glass from the scheme flies in the face of internationally recognised best practice on deposit return schemes, such as that in Denmark. Its deposit return scheme, which has levied a deposit on glass bottles since 1922, is the envy of the world. Since introducing its scheme, the recycling rate for empty glass in Denmark has risen to 90%, one of the highest in the world.

To exclude glass would be to ignore the opinion of the public and leading Irish environmental charities on this issue. A poll published last year by VOICE Ireland revealed that almost nine in ten people believe all drinks containers should be included in a deposit return scheme. It highlighted that a majority of Irish people support the inclusion of glass bottles in the scope of the scheme. In late 2020, some 20 leading Irish voices, including the CEOs of Friends of the Earth, An Taisce and VOICE Ireland, signed a letter calling for the inclusion of glass. Now more than ever before, the Government must listen to the people on this issue.

I wish to take this opportunity to highlight to Seanad Éireann and the Minister of State the need for a deposit fee that varies according to the size and material of the container. This really is a common-sense proposal. A flat rate 20 cent deposit has been proposed for the vast majority of containers, regardless of size, from 330 ml servings of lemonade to 3 l containers of cola.For smaller servings of less than 0.5 l, a 20 cent deposit represents a huge percentage increase on the price charged to the consumer and for larger containers the increase is less significant. One can see the problem, as this will encourage a shift in consumer behaviour towards larger containers, which is not good when we think about overall health policy. We do not want people buying larger containers of sugary drinks, for example. A variable deposit scheme is far better and I can cite a number of examples, including Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. We know best practice is to move to a variable deposit scheme.

I urgently call on the Minister of State to ensure Ireland's deposit return scheme is fit for purpose. We must make it one of the leading schemes in the world and we must be ambitious. It should be a scheme that countries across the EU can admire and replicate. Failure is not an option and glass must be included, with the deposit varying according to size and material of the container. I look forward to the Minister of State's response.