Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1055: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the percentage of businesses obliged under regulations to take responsibility for their waste; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10036/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2003 place a general duty of care on any holder of waste not to hold, transport, recover or dispose of waste in a manner that causes or is likely to cause environmental pollution. Local authorities have specific powers under the Acts to require measures to be taken to prevent or limit environmental pollution caused by the holding or disposal of waste and mitigate or remedy the effects on the environment of any such activity.

While enforcement is a matter for the local authorities and the Office of Environmental Enforcement, I will continue to ensure that the regulatory framework and the resources for effective enforcement are appropriate to deal with the problem. Very significant powers were made available to local authorities under the Waste Management Act 1996 to enable them to tackle illegal waste activity, and those powers were further strengthened by the Protection of the Environment Act 2003. Those grant an authorised person of a local authority powers to halt vehicles and inspect premises for any purpose connected with the Acts. Maximum penalties attaching to illegal waste activities are substantial and were increased in the 2003 Act.

To assist local authorities further in acting on those powers, for the second consecutive year, over €7 million has been allocated from the environment fund to support a more vigorous approach to environmental enforcement, with a particular emphasis on combating dumping and other unauthorised waste activities. That is now being reflected in the presence of additional enforcement personnel on the ground.

On a related matter, as part of the very successful Race Against Waste campaign, two initiatives aimed specifically at the business community were launched with a view to heightening awareness among businesses of their obligations regarding waste and of the need to increase recycling rates. The Small Change initiative was launched in February 2004 and provides step-by-step information on how to reduce, reuse, recycle and compost waste in the workplace for small and medium-sized businesses. It was run in partnership with the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland and included a printed guide, website and seminars, all of which remain highly popular and in constant demand since the programme's launch.

In February 2005, I launched the Action at Work programme, which targets large organisations and aims to teach such organisations how to implement a better waste management strategy; provide information on what permits waste contractors should have; focus on waste minimisation and recycling; notify organisations of their legal obligations; and present examples on how other organisations are implementing reduce, reuse, recycle policies, such as my Department, Dublin Bus and the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

The programme comprises an action at work guide produced in print and CD format as well as nationwide seminars running from March to June 2005 along with website and lo-call phone line support.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1056: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of prosecutions taken against businesses for failing to comply with packaging waste legislation since 1997; the prosecuting local authority; the companies prosecuted; the penalties imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10037/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The detailed information requested is not available in my Department. Nonetheless, I regard the effective operation of the regulatory regime for the waste sector as a key priority for my Department. Failure by any business or person to comply with waste legislation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. To that end, several significant initiatives designed to achieve more vigorous enforcement of the waste code have been introduced. Those are designed to support the activities of the local authorities who are the primary enforcement authorities.

The Protection of the Environment Act 2003 provides new enforcement powers and increases the maximum fines for contraventions of the waste code. Conviction on indictment for an offence under the Waste Management Acts now carries a maximum fine of €15 million as well as a term of imprisonment of up to ten years.

Second, the Office of Environmental Enforcement, OEE, located within the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has been established and is fully operational. While it has a wide remit, the OEE is focusing on waste-related enforcement activities in its early stages and has established a national enforcement network to ensure a consistent standard of enforcement quality and evenness of activity across local authorities in the area. Several working groups have been established under the auspices of the national enforcement network to examine local authority enforcement activities over a range of specific areas, including packaging waste.

Third, the importance of providing additional resources to underpin the waste enforcement effort has been acknowledged. In that regard, €7 million from the environment fund was allocated to local authorities in 2004 to support the first year of a major five-year programme of local authority waste enforcement activities. A further €7 million is being provided in 2005. The aim is to provide a stronger and more visible local authority enforcement presence on the ground and to ensure more frequent inspections and speedier responses to reported allegations of non-compliance with waste legislation. Local authorities have been requested to give particular priority to enforcement of the 2003 packaging regulations in their functional areas.

I intend to continue to place a major emphasis on the importance of effective enforcement by competent authorities — local authorities and the EPA or OEE — across all environmental legislation and will continue to consider further measures which may prove necessary to further progress in this area.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1057: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the annual lost revenue due to non-compliance with packaging waste regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10038/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The information sought is not available in my Department. Enforcement of the Waste Management (Packaging) Regulations 2003, as amended, is primarily a matter for local authorities. In that regard, it should be noted that €7 million was allocated to local authorities in 2004 from the environment fund to support stepped-up enforcement of waste management legislation generally, and a further €7 million is being allocated for 2005. Local authorities have been requested to give particular priority to enforcement of the 2003 packaging regulations in their functional areas.

In addition, the Office of Environmental Enforcement, OEE, located within the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has now been established and has in turn established a national enforcement network to ensure a consistent standard of enforcement quality and evenness of activity across local authorities in this area. Several working groups, including one on packaging waste, have been established under the auspices of the national enforcement network to examine local authority enforcement activities over a range of specific waste-related areas.

In light of the above, I am confident that the comprehensive new structures now being put in place are delivering a significantly enhanced waste enforcement service. The allocation of dedicated waste enforcement staff to local authorities, coupled with the efforts of the national enforcement network in co-ordinating activities and providing training, means that we are now in a better position to identify and tackle non-compliance with waste legislation, including the packaging regulations, in a more targeted and focused manner.

The 2003 packaging regulations, which revised and replaced previous regulations made in 1997, are intended to facilitate the achievement by Ireland of the 50% packaging waste recovery target by the end of 2005 as set out in Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste. Those regulations were streamlined further in amending regulations made last year. The current body of regulations provides the necessary legal framework to facilitate the recovery and recycling of packaging waste in Ireland.

Under those regulations, all producers participating in the placing of packaging on the Irish market are obliged to segregate the packaging waste arising on their own premises into specified waste streams, that is, waste aluminium, fibreboard, glass, paper, plastic sheeting, steel and wood and have it collected by authorised operators for recycling. In addition, major producers, that is, those who have an annual turnover in excess of €1 million and who place more than 25 tonnes of packaging on the Irish market, have additional responsibilities with regard to the recovery of packaging waste from their customers.

Major producers have the option of either complying directly with their producer responsibility obligations, that is, self-compliance, or alternatively getting an exemption from those requirements by becoming a member of a packaging waste compliance scheme. 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 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste, is the sole approved compliance scheme for the recovery of packaging waste in Ireland.

While it is not possible to ascertain with any degree of certainty the level of non-compliance among business, I am aware that membership of the Repak scheme now stands at circa 1,900, up from 700 at the end of 2000, which reflects not only the efforts of Repak in its drive to recruit new members but also in large part the increased and more targeted enforcement activities by local authorities in this regard.