Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 264: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the waste infrastructure capital grant scheme will be made available to the private sector. [4002/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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When the capital grants scheme was launched it was intended that it be made available to both public and private sector applicants. The latter, however, was conditional on obtaining the necessary state aid approval from the European Commission. As it transpired, the state aid approval given was of a limited nature. In the interim, however, the industry's scale increased very significantly over a short period of time, a marked process of consolidation became evident and some of the projects for which grant applications had been submitted proceeded in any case.

It became clear, therefore, that a grant scheme for private companies would be more likely to distort competition in the sector or to impact on enhancing acquisition values in the context of industry consolidation, than to have a significant effect on the provision of recycling and recovery infrastructure. On foot of this, my predecessor decided that it would be more effective to redeploy the funding in question to other related initiatives and in particular towards greater enforcement of waste legislation. The latter measure had been strongly advocated by the industry, to address the problem of unfair competition from contractors operating outside the law. I have no plans to reverse this decision.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on whether an increase in the purchase of so called flat pack furniture may lead to an increased packaging waste stream; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4004/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste is premised on the principle of producer responsibility which requires waste producers to contribute to the waste management costs of products which they have placed on the market at end of life. Under the directive, Ireland was required to achieve a 25% recovery rate of packaging waste by 1 July 2001, increasing to a 50% recovery rate by 31 December 2005.

Practical implementation of the directive in Ireland is by way of a producer responsibility initiative, underpinned by the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003, as amended, which replaced earlier regulations introduced in 1997. Under the regulations, producers are required to take steps to recover packaging waste or alternatively to contribute to, and participate in, compliance schemes set up to recover packaging waste.

Packaging waste recovery is organised mainly through a collective industry based compliance scheme operated by Repak Limited, established by Irish industry in 1997 to promote, co-ordinate and finance the collection and recovery of packaging waste with a view to achieving Ireland's packaging waste recovery and recycling targets under Directive 1994/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, which is the only such approved compliance scheme. Significant progress has been made in the recovery of packaging waste and in 2001, Ireland assisted by Repak, met the target of 25% packaging waste recovery target required by the directive.

The latest indications are that Ireland is on course to meet the higher recovery and recycling targets specified for end 2005. The EPA has reported in its national waste database interim report for 2003 — published in December 2004, that packaging waste recovery increased to 42% in that year, up from 33% in 2002. The placing on the market of any product, including flat pack furniture, will inevitably contribute to waste generation both in terms of the product itself at the end of its useful life and the packaging associated with the containment, transport, handling, protection, promotion, marketing and/or sale of the product concerned. The normal producer responsibility obligations described above apply to all producers obligated under the packaging regulations, including any new entrants to the Irish market.