Vol. 555 No. 5
379 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the position in relation to the fund that was set up for the plastic bags levy; the areas to which the proceeds of the fund are allocated, the funding available for county councils nation-wide to upgrade and provide recycling facilities; the grants available; and the balance in the fund from the plastic bags levy. [18874/02]
Revenues from the levies on plastic shopping bags and the landfill of waste are paid into the environment fund, which may be used to support a wide range of waste management and other environmental initiatives, set out in section 74 (9) of the Waste Management Act, 1996, as inserted by section 12 of the Waste Management (Amendment) Act, 2001. Issues in relation to administration of the fund, including criteria for grant assistance, are under consideration.
Specific projects have not yet been funded from the environment fund. However, the cost of administering the levy is met from levy receipts. In accordance with a service level agreement between my Department and the Revenue Commissioners, an initial non-recurring payment of €1.2 million has been paid to Revenue in respect of start-up costs. Ongoing costs, in light of experience, will also be paid from levy receipts. In addition, just over €358,000 was expended on an intensive public information campaign undertaken by my Department prior to the introduction of the levy. Receipts remitted to my Department by the Revenue Commissioners in respect of the plastic bag levy amount to just over €3.95 million to date. Therefore the net balance in the fund arising from the plastic bags levy is just over €2.39 million. In addition, €7.37 million has also been received in respect of the landfill levy.
The National Development Plan 2000-2006 anticipates that €127 million in Exchequer-EU funding will be provided to support the capital cost of waste recovery infrastructure under local and regional waste management plans. I intend shortly to announce the first round of allocations under this capital grants scheme.
