Vol. 572 No. 5
21 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the position in his discussions with the motor industry regarding plans for a not-for-profit company to operate an end-of-life vehicle recovery scheme to be funded by levies on new and used cars; when it is expected that the system will be operational; the likely scale of the levies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23606/03]
My Department has been actively engaged with the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, SIMI, the Irish Motor Vehicle Recyclers Association, IMVRA, the Metal Recyclers Association of Ireland, MRAI, and other stakeholders with a view to developing a producer responsibility initiative, PRI, to implement the European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/53/EC on end-of-life vehicles, ELVs.
Necessary enabling provisions to facilitate implementation of the directive requirements have been incorporated in the Protection of the Environment Act 2003. In accordance with those, Part VA of the Waste Management Act 1996, as inserted by section 44 of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, explicitly provides for producer responsibility for the free treatment and recovery of ELVs, the mandatory deposit of ELVs by their registered owners at authorised treatment facilities and the issue of certificates of destruction in respect of ELVs deposited at authorised treatment facilities for scrapping.
On foot of the enactment of the necessary enabling provisions, my Department continues to engage with the relevant stakeholder groups on the detailed mechanisms for the operation of the free ELV take-back arrangements required by the directive, including how such arrangements will be funded. Such detailed mechanisms will be provided for in regulations.
It is intended to implement the proposed ELV take-back scheme by means of a PRI which would involve the establishment of a collective industry-based company similar to the Repak model which operates for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. In accordance with the usual arrangements for PRIs, responsibility for funding the free take-back scheme would in the main fall to the motor industry, and the imposition of Government levies on new and used cars is not proposed.
The timing of the commencement of free ELV take-back is dependent on the conclusion of the discussions with the relevant stakeholder groups. It is my objective that these discussions will be concluded as soon as possible to facilitate early implementation of the proposed take-back system and to ensure that, by the time the Directive becomes fully operational in 2007, Ireland has a system in place for the recovery and recycling of ELVs capable of meeting the targets and standards set out in the directive.
