Vol. 537 No. 3
40 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will consider introducing subsidies to help promoters operate on a viable basis and help solve the massive problem of disposal of refuse. [15867/01]
Government policy on waste management is committed to a major reduction in our reliance on landfill and the implementation of an integrated waste management approach which will provide the improved infrastructure, waste services and other supporting structural measures necessary to deliver our ambitious national recovery and recycling targets over a 15 year period. Proposed regional and local waste management plans incorporate proposals for a range of recycling and recovery facilities.
Changing our Ways places a strong emphasis on the need to give effect to the polluter pays principle in financing the provision of waste services by or on behalf of local authorities, including segregated waste collection and recycling initiatives. Within each region, it is essential that local authorities move rapidly towards full cost recoupment for the waste services that they provide, by means of use related waste charges levied on all waste producers, including households and commercial/business concerns.
Within the overall context of the £650 million investment in waste services earmarked under the NDP, £100 million in Exchequer/EU assistance will be used primarily to support the capital cost of waste collection and recycling facilities which are either provided for in, or are otherwise considered to support the objectives of, regional and local waste management plans. Details of this grants scheme are being finalised and will be published shortly.
In addition, local authorities and other State agencies, for example, Enterprise Ireland, already support appropriate recycling initiatives.
Further support measures will be facilitated by the proposed environment fund, which is provided for in the Waste Management (Amendment) Bill, 2001. This Bill also provides for the introduction of a landfill levy, which among other things is intended to offset differentials between the cost of waste disposal and recycling and so give an incentive to divert waste from landfill. Income from the landfill levy will be disbursed through the environment fund.
The development and implementation of producer responsibility initiatives by relevant industry sectors will increasingly lead to the provision of financial and other supports for relevant waste recycling initiatives. For example, the Repak payment subsidy scheme, under which Repak makes a payment to private waste contractors for every tonne of packaging waste it collects and sends for recycling, is intended to provide stability to Irish packaging waste markets; in turn this encourages waste operators to upgrade their operations through investment in staff and equipment.
Other producer responsibility initiatives are being developed for construction and demolition waste, end of life vehicles and tyres, or are planned, for example, for electrical and electronic wastes.
I will further address the question of financial supports for the development of recycling and reprocessing activities in the forthcoming policy statement on waste prevention and recovery. However, I am not minded to propose operational subsidies from Government for commercial recycling activities. Ongoing subvention of this nature will not address structural deficiencies impeding the recycling industry or overcome underlying obstacles to better recycling.
The scale of our economy is so small that it is not possible for people to engage in recycling. I know of a number of individuals and enterprises who attempted to do it but it was not financially viable. There needs to be State assistance. Grants are available for many other activities in sectors such as farming and house building, to help businesses operate on a profitable basis. More recycling would result in less expenditure on waste collection. The Minister gave me a glimmer of hope when he said some moneys were being provided for waste disposal and recycling. Is the Minister indicating there will be grants available for recycling enterprises? That is one of the ways to attack the waste disposal problem.
I agree with the Deputy that because of demographics, the scale of the country and the manner in which waste management has been operated up to now, it has been difficult for people to make a successful business out of recycling activities. That is why we chose the route for changing our ways, to encourage local authorities to operate on a regional rather than on a local basis, in order to bring some critical mass into particular regions to deal with waste. The Deputy is correct, I said that there is a £650 million investment programme in waste services earmarked under the national development plan. There will be £100 million in Exchequer and EU assistance, primarily to support the capital costs of the waste collection and recycling facilities. I emphasise that it is to support the capital costs.
Direct subventions, apart from the problems that we would have from the point of view of the EU, competition and State aid, are not the most efficient and effective way of encouraging waste management and the provision of waste management facilities. The recycling policy document will outline the proposed assistance. The underlying premise of the Deputy's question is that it has not been possible and there have not been successful recycling operations in this country. My counterpart in Northern Ireland, Mr. Sam Foster, and I recently launched the Recycling Directory of Ireland. It lists successful reprocessors and recycling enterprises throughout the island of Ireland. A whole range of goods have been successfully recovered – paper, glass, card, plastics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oils, computer and electrical waste, biodegradable waste, batteries, timber, textiles.
That concludes Priority Questions. We must proceed to the other questions.
