Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

726. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the estimated loss to the Exchequer of reducing the €0.22 levy on plastic bags to €0.17; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34561/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The primary purpose of the plastic bag levy is not to generate revenue, but is first and foremost an economic instrument to encourage more environmentally sustainable behaviour. In particular, the levy was introduced as an anti-litter measure designed to influence consumers by encouraging them to reduce their use of disposable plastic bags. Section 72 of the Waste Management Act 1996, as inserted by section 9 of the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001, provided for the introduction of the plastic bag levy. The Waste Management (Environmental Levy)(Plastic Bag) Order 2007 and the Waste Management (Environmental Levy) (Plastic Bag) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 allowed for the levy to be increased from its previous level of 15 cent per bag to 22 cent per bag from 1 July 2007. 

The introduction of the levy in March 2002 led to a dramatic reduction in the number of disposable plastic bags supplied to consumers, from an estimated 328 bags per person per year, prior to the introduction of the levy, to 21 bags per person by the end of 2002 and a further reduction to an estimated 13 bags per person by the end of 2014 . 

The National Litter Pollution Monitoring System is used to measure the impact of the plastic bag levy on an ongoing basis, and my Department also monitors the receipts from the plastic bag levy to monitor trends in the average per capita consumption of plastic bags. These data are used to ensure that the plastic bag levy is set at an appropriate level.  The National Litter Pollution Monitoring System Report 201 4 reports that plastic bags constituted 0.13 % of litter arising in 2014. This compares with 5% prior to the levy’s introduction. 

Receipts from the plastic bag levy for each year are published in the Environment Fund Annual Accounts. The 2014 Annual Accounts will be published on my Department’s website in due course after they have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, while copies of the Annual Accounts up to and including 2013  are available on my Department’s website at the following weblink :. It is difficult to gauge accurately how a reduction of 5 centsin the levy would ultimately impact both on consumer behaviour and on income to the Fund. However, it would probably be reasonable to assume that were such a reduction in the levy introduced, any reduction in income from the levy would be offset, at least partially, by an increase in the number of plastic bags used, which is contrary to the principal objective of the levy.

Given the success of the levy to date in reducing the usage of plastic bags, I have no plans to reduce it at this time.