I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together.
The National TransFrontier Shipment Office (NTFSO) which operates under the auspices of Dublin City Council, is Ireland's competent authority for the export, import and transit of waste shipments. The NTFSO has determined that used farm plastic for international export falls into two main categories:
1. Green waste - used farm plastic received and treated at an authorised facility in Ireland prior to export, and;
2. Amber waste - farm plastic co-mingled with other contaminants such as sand, grit, stones, soil or other organic material.
Such determinations are a matter for the NTFSO as competent authority for waste shipments. Under Section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority of their statutory functions under the Act.
Under the farm plastics scheme producers pay an environmental levy to Irish Farm Films Producers Group (IFFPG) based on the quantity of product they place on the market. The levy, together with other sources of income, is used by IFFPG to fund and provide for the collection, transportation and treatment of farm film plastics. The charges set by IFFPG are a commercial charge rather than a statutory one.
While my Department sets the policy and legislative framework for the farm plastics waste stream, it has no role in the operational and day to day running of the scheme. It is not within the remit of my or my Department's to direct a reallocation of the financial assets of IFFPG to fund independent commercial activity which is outside of the approved scheme.
