Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2015
587. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has discussed its grievances on the workings of the tyre working group and some of the practices and recommendations that have resulted from its deliberations, with the Independent Tyres Wholesalers and Retailers Association. [44166/15]
View answer588. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will review the prescribed solution of a full producer-responsibility initiative, with the suggested loss of jobs, distortion of trade and imposition of a new tax on the consumer, given that the tyre industry claims that the tyre working group process was flawed. [44167/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 587 and 588 together.
Extensive discussions with the tyre industry through the establishment of a Tyres Working Group have taken place since the publication of the PRI Review Report on Tyres and Waster Tyres over two years ago in November 2013. The Tyres Working Group was, and continues to be, an open and transparent arrangement through which stakeholders have an opportunity to shape the future of the tyre sector in Ireland. However, the Independent Tyre Wholesalers and Retailers Association (ITWRA) withdrew from the Group shortly after I announced my decision to establish a full PRI for tyres and waste tyres in January 2015. My Department has been in occasional contact with the organisation since their decision to withdraw. The ITWRA continue to receive all Tyres Working Group related correspondence and on several occasions I have urged them to re-join the process and to embrace the opportunity to influence the shape of the new structures.
Prior to the adoption of the current 2007 Regulations, my Department made it very clear that this was the last opportunity for the tyre industry to embrace environmental compliance and take responsibility for the waste it produces. It stated that if the required improvement did not happen a full Producer Responsibility Initiative (PRI) model would be introduced. The Producer Responsibility Initiative report on Tyres and Waste Tyres published in November 2013 looked at the operation of the system introduced in 2007 and found:
- A non-compliance rate with the Tyre Regulations of 46%,
- A lack of consistent and accurate data on tyres,
- The system was not tracking data flows well, and
- Between 25% and 50% of waste tyres were not accounted for.
In summary, this system, which has resulted in between 15–20 million tyres being dumped illegally around our country, is failing to provide a proper waste management system for tyres and cannot be allowed to continue. The tyre industry is now being asked to do what operators in other areas such as WEEE, packaging, batteries, and farm plastics have been doing for years; that is, to take responsibility for managing the waste that they produce. Economic operators who are in compliance with the Regulations have nothing to fear from the new structures.
The model that is being introduced will formalise a charge that tyre retailers already apply to purchases of new tyres by consumers and ensure that the fee consumers pay actually goes towards its stated purpose, which is to support the environmental treatment of waste tyres. This charge varies across the country from around €1.75 to as much as €3.50 per tyre. As things stand, the consumer, in effect, pays twice – first, when they purchase new tyres and then, again, through their taxation when local authorities remove illegal tyre stockpiles across the country. The new system is therefore very positive from the perspective of the consumer.
Repak ELT, which has already replaced TRACS as the sole compliance scheme for tyres as of 1 November 2015, already has almost 200 members and the model that I am developing, which mirrors arrangements in place in 20 other EU Member States, will, I am confident, enjoy the full support of all members of the European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association, who make up approximately 50% of the Irish tyre market.
As I have previously stated, I urge both the Irish Tyre Industry Association (ITIA) and the Irish Tyre Wholesalers & Retailers Association (ITWRA) to re-join the process and re-engage with my Department in finalising the details for the new regulatory regime. In addition, my Department and Repak ELT continue to engage with representatives from the farming, construction and haulage sectors on the new arrangements.
