Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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87.To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will confirm that the Irish road haulage sector will be impacted by a proposed €10 per tonne levy on the transportation of soil and stone within the next 14 weeks; if he will consider extending the introduction date to allow for the haulage sector time to transition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25132/24]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department has been engaging with key stakeholders including the Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA) and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) on this matter, including on the timing of removing the existing exemptions for construction waste and the rate at which a levy for construction waste would apply. The Irish Plant Contractors’ Association participated in a Departmental briefing on May 15th , which included the issue of construction waste.

According to the national waste statistics, Construction and Demolition (C&D) is the fastest growing waste stream, accounting for over half of the total waste currently being generated in Ireland with only 8% being recycled or reused by the Irish construction industry, which is lower than in other jurisdictions including the UK. Given that substantial volumes of this material are potentially preventable, re-usable or recyclable, it presents a significant opportunity for Ireland’s transition to a more circular economy and for the construction industry to lower the cost of construction.

The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced measures to support this transition, such as the introduction of national by-product (prevention and reuse) and end of waste (recycling) decisions for construction materials. These decisions allow for usable C&D material to be treated as a resource rather than a waste. These materials would therefore not be subject to the environmental levies as they would not be deemed a waste and if diverted from landfill sites, existing gate fees would be avoided thereby delivering considerable savings for the construction sector.

As the regulatory landscape for construction demolition waste has evolved significantly, the continued application of the levy exemptions for C&D waste is neither tenable nor sustainable. It is therefore, the Department’s intention to remove the waste recovery and landfill levy exemptions for construction and demolition waste. The purpose of removing these exemptions for C&D waste is to incentivise the construction industry to reduce the amount of C&D waste it currently sends for thermal recovery or disposal and re-use the material in accordance with the EPA Circular Economy initiatives to achieve cost savings.

As stated, stakeholder engagement on the timing of removing the existing exemptions for construction waste and the rate at which a levy for construction waste would apply in the regulations, due to be made in September 2024, is ongoing.