Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the staff because there are a number of amendments replacing the one amendment I had in respect of this matter on Committee Stage. The matter was raised by some paper cup manufacturers, but we all saw it as a committee. All of us present attend the climate action committee and we know people can be encouraged to use cheap plastic alternatives that are effectively single-use items, although they may be used a couple of times. The amendment I tabled on Committee Stage sought to achieve some kind of regulation to prohibit such action.

Senators McGahon and Dooley raised this point because a particular paper cup manufacturer used the point as an example of a levy being put on its items but not on a cheap alternative to that item. All round, this is the fairest thing to do. I repeat what I said last week, which is that in the hierarchy of waste, not using something in the first place gets the highest priority. We should not be looking at recycling or composting as an alternative to reuse. It is not the same and such activities are much further down the hierarchy in tackling waste. That is why it is absolutely correct to put a levy on all single-use items, including paper. I am very supportive of the amendments and the Bill in general, which works in that way.