Vol. 557 No. 3
234 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of cars which have been scrapped under the scrappage scheme since it was implemented; the measures which were taken to ensure dangerous chemicals such as those contained in car batteries were disposed of safely; the number of authorised dealers who carry out this scheme; the locations of each; and the amount the scheme is costing the State. [21978/02]
Information is not available in my Department on the number of vehicles which have been scrapped on foot of failing the national car test, NCT, since its introduction in January 2000. No scrappage scheme has been introduced to deal specifically with the recovery and disposal of vehicles that fail the NCT. Issues in relation to the NCT itself are a matter for the Minister for Transport.
Section 32(1) of the Waste Management Act, 1996, prohibits the holding, transport, recovery or disposal of waste in a manner that causes or is likely to cause environmental pollution. This general duty of care applies, inter alia, to owners of end-of-life vehicles, ELVs. It is incumbent on the owner of an ELV to dispose of it in a responsible manner by transferring it to one of a number of facilities that have – unless otherwise licensed – been permitted under the Waste Management (Permit) Regulations, 1998, to undertake the dismantling and recovery of such vehicles. Under the conditions attaching to such permits, vehicle dismantlers or shredders are required to ensure that all hazardous materials and components – including batteries – are removed and appropriately stored with a view to ensuring their environmentally sound recovery or disposal.
Local authorities are the designated authorities responsible for issuing waste permits. My Department does not have a national list of the vehicle dismantlers and shredders that have been issued with such permits. However, my Department recently requested local authorities to ensure that all vehicle dismantlers and shredders operating in their functional area hold the necessary permits or licences.
I refer to the reply to Question No. 243 on today's Order Paper in regard to the proposed ELV management scheme which is being developed to implement the main provisions of European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles. As it is intended to implement the proposed scheme by means of a producer responsibility initiative, the costs involved will, in the main, fall to the motor industry.
