Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 168: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the further regulations he intends to introduce under sections 28 and 29 of the Waste Management Act 1996 to bring about waste prevention and minimisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5335/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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An effective basis for addressing our waste management responsibilities has been put in place through my Department's policy statements Changing Our Ways, 1998, Delivering Change, 2002, and Taking Stock and Moving Forward 2004; through statutory waste management plans, largely prepared on a regional basis; and the comprehensive regulatory framework now in place on waste. The Government is committed to an integrated approach to waste management based on the internationally recognised hierarchy of prevention/minimisation, significantly increased levels of recycling, energy recovery and, finally, utilising landfill as the last resort for residual waste that cannot otherwise be recovered.

A key priority currently is the development and roll out of a national waste prevention programme. A core prevention team was established in 2004 in the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and drive a national waste prevention programme. The core prevention team has been developing baseline studies as part of the initial phase of the programme. The five year programme also envisages mandatory waste and material audits, waste prevention pilot schemes and so forth. Where regulatory provisions are required as the programme is implemented these will be given consideration by my Department.

A key component of the waste management system in Ireland has been the development of producer responsibility initiatives, PRIs. Last year I made regulations under the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2005, to transpose and implement the EU directive on waste electrical and electronic equipment, WEEE, which is based on the promotion of waste prevention and minimisation objectives, and to further streamline the packaging waste regulations made in 2003.

My Department is currently developing regulations for further PRIs on waste tyres and the EU directive on end-of-life vehicles. Following on the success of producer responsibility initiatives already operating in the areas of packaging, farm plastics, construction and demolition wastes and WEEE, work is ongoing in developing a producer responsibility initiative for newsprint.