John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 175: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that all of the output of recyclable material from the south east materials recovery facility in Dungarvan, County Waterford is being sent abroad to be processed; his views on whether the processing of this material locally in Dungarvan could generate much needed employment in an unemployment black spot; his proposals to encourage re-processing industries to establish facilities in the Dungarvan area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7501/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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It is understood that the waste in question goes both to European and Asian outlets for recovery. The general situation in Ireland is that we are substantially reliant on foreign based materials recycling infrastructure, which accounted for 73.8% of recycled waste in 2004.

It should be noted that clean segregated materials are a sought after resource which are freely traded under EU and international law. The Environmental Protection Agency stated in the National Waste Report 2004 that, "the export of recyclable waste materials is a trade that cannot be inhibited by member states". The OECD Decision of C(92)39 Final on the control of trans-boundary movements of wastes destined for recovery operations notes that the recovery of valuable materials and energy from wastes is an integral part of the international economic system and that well established markets exist for, and can contribute to, the collection and processing of such materials within member countries.

While international trade in waste is consistent with Government policy in so far as it supports improved performance in recycling, the Government also recognises the value of a more developed recycling infrastructure in Ireland. A market development group was established by the Government in 2004 to identify market opportunities for materials recovered for recycling. A market development programme will be developed by the group in 2006.