Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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1149. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if the Environmental Protection Agency has plans to act upon calls from interested stakeholders regarding reducing supermarket packaging; and his views on whether this is an area in which Ireland could be a leader, similar to the plastic bag levy. [14179/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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As Minister, I am responsible for the administration of the EU Packaging Directive, which is transposed in Ireland by the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014.Under the Regulations, at least 60% of packaging waste must be recovered and 55% must be recycled. The most recent Waste Packaging Statistics for Ireland, published by the EPA in May 2016, show that Ireland has met and exceeded the overall packaging waste recovery rate and the recycling rate targets since they came into force.

Repak is the approved producer responsibility compliance scheme for packaging in Ireland and it is tasked with meeting recovery and recycling targets established under the EU Packaging Directive.  Repak members pay fees based on the amount of packaging they place on the market and this incentivises them to reduce packaging.

A lot of work has been done by Repak members to prevent and minimise the amount of packaging they require. With the assistance of the EPA, Repak’s Prevent and Save initiative funded under the National Waste Prevention Programme, has worked with Irish business to reduce packaging and to promote packaging improvements across industry. Under the initiative, specialist packaging technologists look for ways to optimise the packaging used and to minimise any resulting packaging waste. Further information can be found on www.repak.ie/preventandsave. However, it should also be noted that packaging is used by producers and retailers to protect and preserve goods and can help in preventing food and other product waste.