Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 596: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason Westmeath County Council has not been included as part of the collection system put in place by the farm plastic scheme; if in view of Westmeath being overlooked in the initial phase, he will ensure that Westmeath is included in the next allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3967/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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To address the issue of accumulated backlogs of farm plastic, designated facilities are being provided on a temporary, once-off basis by local authorities where farmers may deposit stockpiled farm film plastic and silage wrap. This arrangement operated on a pilot basis in the first instance in counties Galway, Clare, Mayo, Offaly and Waterford during June and July of last year. This service is free to the farmer and funding to assist the local authorities is being made available from my Department through the Environment Fund.

The collections were well supported by farmers in the counties participating in the pilot phase, leading to large quantities of plastic being deposited at designated sites. A significant finding from the pilot scheme is that it is not possible to operate collections in a large number of counties at the same time due to capacity constraints on the part of recovery operators. Accordingly, it was necessary to roll out the scheme to other areas on a staggered basis. Arising from a comprehensive examination of the information available, I approved further collections of waste silage / bale wrap by Leitrim, Roscommon, Carlow, Longford, North Tipperary and Wicklow County Councils which recently concluded. Announcements regarding further extensions of collections to other areas, including Westmeath, will follow a review of this second phase of the scheme.