Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if, in relation to the EU Directive and national statutory instruments 2006 prepared under the Waste Management (End of Life Vehicle) Regulation 2006, if local authorities must have their own sweeping facilities in place under the budgetary restrictions; if it will be necessary that all counties have facilities in place; and if there will be a derogation in place for smaller counties such as County Leitrim whereby they can use other counties' facilities. [26887/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of life vehicles (ELVs) sets out specific measures to be put in place by EU Member States in relation to the collection, storage, treatment, dismantling, reuse and recycling of end-of-life vehicles. Under the Directive, each Member State is required, inter alia, to ensure that all end-of-life vehicles are dismantled, treated and recovered at no cost to the final holder / owner of that vehicle and in a manner that does not cause environmental pollution.

The Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006 provide the regulatory framework for the implementation in Ireland of this Directive. Under the regulations, a wide range of obligations are imposed on vehicle producers (i.e. manufacturers and professional importers), authorised treatment facilities, vehicle owners and local authorities.

Producers are required to establish national collection systems for the appropriate treatment and recovery of end-of-life vehicles of their particular brands. As a minimum and in accordance with the proximity principle, each producer's national collection system is required to have at least one authorised treatment facility in each city and county council area that will provide free take-back for vehicles of that producer's brand. In counties and cities with a larger population base, producers are required to have one additional facility for each additional 150,000 persons in the relevant county or city area. Producers must also register with each local authority, pay a registration fee and provide specified information to each local authority under the registration process.

Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of the regulations in their functional areas as well as the issue of waste facility permits for authorised treatment facilities. They have no direct role in the provision of such treatment facilities - that is a matter for the market in the first instance or, in the absence of a market solution, for producers in accordance with their producer responsibility obligations under the regulations.