Vol. 433 No. 2
12 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade if a full analysis has been carried out by his Department of the Green Dot campaign in Germany in relation to its implications for Irish exporters; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
My Department is working with An Bord Tráchtála to monitor the implications for Irish exporters of the Green Dot programme on new packaging arrangements in Germany.
Germany's new and comprehensive packaging laws became fully effective on 1 January 1993 and all suppliers to the German consumer market are now obliged to arrange for the collection and delivery to recycling plants of all product containers and transport wrapping. The legislation affects all consumer packaging whether the product is manufactured in Germany or abroad.
The effect of the regulations is to create an additional cost for the disposal of packaging for everyone in the manufacturing, distribution and retailing chain — a cost which must be borne in mind by exporters as they prepare quotes for the German market. However the additional cost will apply equally to all, Germans and exporters alike, and therefore does not create an unfair competitive advantage. An Bord Tráchtála organised a workshop to brief almost 100 Irish suppliers to the German market on the new packaging requirements. Its Düsseldorf office continues to monitor the regulations and to advise Irish companies on how to adapt their marketing strategies to meet the new requirements.
Do the efforts made to familiarise Irish exports with these regulations include advice about packaging material which will become acceptable due to the difficulties in recycling under the new Green Dot programme? Is the Minister aware that the regulations which are being put in place in Germany will be put in place in other countries such as Denmark and Holland and throughout Europe? Usually these countries follow Germany as regards environmental regulations.
I opened a conference for An Bord Tráchtála in Belfield some months ago which was attended by a number of Irish companies who export to the German market. An Bord Tráchtála and Irish companies who export to the German market have been aware for some time of these new regulations and are complying with them. If one were to place a bet one could do so with a fair amount of certainty that this type of regulation will become part of an EC directive and will apply throughout the Community. The manner in which Germany has applied the regulation is perhaps a lesson to us all. The Germans have applied it rigidly for everybody with no exemptions, exclusions or anything else. It just had to work. It caused some difficulties but it applies to everyone in the German market. If it becomes a directive nobody can ignore it. In a short time Irish exporters who are thinking of exporting to the German market or to anywhere in Europe will have to comply with an EC directive which will follow on from the German legislation. Irish businesses should speed up because this is what they will have to face in the next few years.
That exhausts Question Time——
Deputy Harney rose.
A very quick question then, Deputy.
Does the Minister accept that the packaging requirements in Germany in addition to the blue angel, which is an eco-labelling scheme applying to approximately 3,500 product ranges, were introduced for commendable and environmental reasons, because they do act as a barrier to trade? The Minister is right in saying it is only a matter of time before they are applied to the Community at large. Would he agree that Irish companies should be encouraged, in advance of the regulation, to prepare for this rather than force the Government to seek derogation in relation to these matters?
I agree with the Deputy, because it is only a matter of time before all this will happen. This Government or any Government here would be in a very weak position were they to seek a derogation because, as I have pointed out, the system operates efficiently in Germany. Irish companies would need to speed up because if the scheme is operating in Germany it will apply to the rest of Europe in the very near future, and rightly so. Even though it involves extra costs, I believe that for environmental reasons, which Deputy Harney would be very interested in, it is a very good thing.
That concludes Questions for today.
