Vol. 505 No. 4
133 Mr. Ferris asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 409 and 410 of 23 March 1999, a final decision has been made on the adoption of an agreement with Irish Detergents and Allied Products Association; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13871/99]
My Department has been involved in discussions for some time with representatives of the Irish Detergents and Allied Products Association with a view to securing a voluntary agreement for the reduction of phosphates in household detergents. In the context of these discussions, the major producers of such products for the Irish market have individually given specific commitments to reduce the p-content of their product ranges and have already extended its ranges of p-free products on the market. One of the major producers has, in recent times, accelerated their programme of phosphorous substitution and indicated an intention to switch all its detergents products to p-free format by mid-2000. On the basis of these developments, it is estimated that the phosphorous load from detergents will be reduced by some 50 per cent by mid-2000 with further reductions thereafter.
I will support these developments by means of environmental awareness measures later this year to inform and promote consumer preference in favour of p-free products. I intend also to introduce a statutory requirement for the provision of information by producers of detergents to enable the planned reductions in phosphorous to be reliably monitored.
While a formal, industry-wide agreement is not now feasible, given the differences in the positions of major players, I welcome the progress being made by the industry. I will continue to monitor the position and to seek to secure steady progress towards a more complete phase-out of phosphorous-based detergents.
