John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

One of the issues I want to discuss is the deposit return scheme, of which I am hugely supportive. It is a scheme I have not personally been involved in. As a member of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action and as the climate action spokesperson, however, it is something I have been following very closely for the past two years. It is an excellent scheme. The greatest thing an individual can do is to recycle. As with everything relating to climate action, the scheme makes recycling easy. It also gives people an incentive to recycle.

I have an issue with the scheme.issue I have with scheme. I would like to be able to bring it to the attention of and resolve it with the Minister at some stage in this House. I refer to the fact that when people deposit plastic bottles in particular shops, they get paper receipts in return and have to use them in those shops. I do not think that is a great way to make it as easy as possible for people to recycle. A far easier way to do it would be with a simple app on people's phones whereby they could go to any vending machine anywhere in the country and recycle right there and then. The money in their accounts would be topped up on their phones and people could use the app to be spend it at any stage in any other shops involved in the scheme. I do not think it is viable that because a person recycles one bottle in a shop, they then have to spend the 15 cent they receive in return in that particular shop. This is about making the scheme as accessible and as viable as possible. The idea that people have to go around with paper receipts for €2, €4 or €5 here and there and then try to add them all up when they go back to the till in the place where they recycled just does not make sense.

It is a great scheme. I am really proud to see the scheme working well. I am glad to see so many people taking part in it, but there are ways in which we could make it better with a few tweaks. I would appreciate a debate about the scheme and on the importance of recycling at some point.