Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1444: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he is satisfied that waste collected by private companies here is not exported in order to be illegally dumped in other jurisdictions. [30153/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The EU Waste Shipments Regulation sets out the controls applicable to shipments of waste within, into, and out of the European Union. It is directly applicable in the Member States. All shipments of waste must follow various procedures and control regimes, which are determined by the type of waste shipped and the type of treatment that will be applied to the waste at its destination. Thus, different levels of control regime apply depending on the risk posed by the waste and its treatment in terms of recovery or disposal.

In addition, exports to third countries of waste intended for disposal are prohibited, except to EFTA countries which are party to the Basel Convention. Exports of hazardous waste intended for recovery are prohibited, except those directed to countries to which an OECD decision applies, and to third countries which are party to the Basel Convention or countries which have concluded a bilateral agreement with the EU.

Under the Waste Management (Shipments of Waste) Regulations 2007, Dublin City Council is the competent authority designated to regulate exports of waste from the State and my Department has no function in the matter. Under article 49 of the EU Waste Shipments Regulation, in the case of exports of waste from the Community directly out of Ireland, Dublin City Council is required to prohibit an export to third countries if it has reason to believe that the waste will not be managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout the period of shipment, and including in its recovery or disposal in the country of destination.