Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 685: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will amend the means by which the Local Government Fund allocation for each administrative area is calculated to provide for the additional cost of providing additional recycling facilities, such as the extension of door to door dry and composting recycling facilities; if he has had requests from local authorities for such support; if so, the local authorities which have submitted these requests; the outcomes of these requests; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34058/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Government support for local authority recycling measures is generally provided from the Environment Fund. Since 2002, some €90 million has been allocated to assist local authorities in the provision of greatly expanded recycling facilities. This has facilitated an increase in Bring Banks from 837 in 1998 to 1,929 in 2004 and in Civic Amenity sites from 30 in 1998 to 69 in 2004. In 2006, additional Exchequer funding of €10m has also for the first time been made available. This reflects the importance which the Government attaches to supporting local authorities in the provision of these very important facilities.

Funding is allocated on the basis of the resources available from the Environment Fund and an assessment of proposals received from the local authorities and relates to the bring bank network and civic amenity sites including facilities for biodegradable waste.

Funding towards the cost of collections for dry recyclable is provided by producers of packaging waste through a compliance scheme, Repak. Increases in subsidy rates for such collections over the next five years have recently been agreed between local authorities and Repak in discussions brokered by my Department. I am confident that these new increased subsidy rates will ensure that Ireland continues to successfully meet EU-set targets for packaging waste recycling. The rate of recovery of packaging waste rose from just 15% in 1998 to over 56% in 2004. Ireland's EU-set target of 25% for recovery of packaging was met in 2001 and the 2005 target of 50% was exceeded a year in advance. Ireland's target recovery rate for 2011 is 60%.