Mary Wallace (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Question 867: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of groups (details supplied) regarding the fact that the UK has postponed the implementation of the waste electrical recycling law until January 2006 and that there is no indication yet from his Department that it intends to postpone same from 18 August 2005 to January 2006; if his attention has further been drawn to views among retail outlets here that there should be visibility regarding the recycling fee, shown and charged in order to keep a level playing pitch in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19384/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The EU directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE, presents a challenge to all relevant stakeholder groups and its effective implementation will require a focused, committed approach from all concerned. Last April, I published draft regulations for the implementation of the directive and a consultation process with stakeholders, including the representative groups of the retail sector, is currently taking place. I made it clear that implementation was planned from the due date of 13 August next as prescribed in the directive.

Most waste in the short-term will be historic waste, that is, arising from electrical and electronic equipment placed on the market before 13 August 2005. The directive requires member states to allow producers to show purchasers, at the time of sale of new products, the costs of collection, treatment and disposal of the relevant waste in an environmentally sound way, for a limited period. These costs, referred to in the draft regulations as environmental management costs, EMCs, are also known as "visible fees". Issues in relation to the operation of EMCs are the subject of ongoing discussions between the representatives of producers and retailers which my Department is helping to facilitate. The outcome of this process and the various submissions received on the draft regulations as part of the public consultation will all be considered before the final detailed implementing regulations are made.