Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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186. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the progress to date in reducing the collective dependency on plastic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29806/21]

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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190. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the status of Ireland’s recycling targets for 2025 as detailed in the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29816/21]

Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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191. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the details of the level of plastic recycling in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29817/21]

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 186, 190 and 191 together. 　

The EPA is the competent authority with responsibility for compiling waste data in Ireland and publishes annual reports on this. These reports assess Ireland’s performance against the recycling and recovery targets set out in EU and national legislation. Details of these national waste statistics can be found at www.epa.ie/nationalwastestatistics/.

The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy details the measures that will be adopted to achieve optimum results in the area of plastics and packaging. The over-riding objective is to ensure that all packaging placed on the Irish market is reusable or recyclable in an economically viable way by 2030. It sets out a level of ambition which will position Ireland as a frontrunner towards the attainment of EU packaging recycling targets including:

- overall packaging recycling rates of 65% by 2025 and 70% by 2030 and

- material specific plastic recycling rates of 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030.

The Plan also outlines the measures Ireland is taking under the Single Use Plastics Directive (EU 2019/904) to substantially reduce the amount of single use plastic items we use and to sustainably manage the waste arising from those we do. The Directive will be transposed by the deadline of 3 July 2021 and from that date single use plastic cutlery, plates, stirrers, straws, balloon sticks and cotton bud sticks may not be placed on the Irish market. This ban will also apply to single use expanded polystyrene cups and food containers and all products containing oxo-degradable plastic.