Vol. 573 No. 3
419 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the overall figure within his Department for the percentages, quantities and costs of recycled and non-recycled paper and paper products used by his Department in the last period for which figures are available; and the plans his Department has to increase its use of recycled paper and paper products, and cut down on the use of non-recycled paper and paper products. [25430/03]
The information requested by the Deputy is estimated for the period 1 January 2003 to 30 September 2003 as follows: total paper cost, €61,388; recycled paper cost, €8,470; and percentage recycled paper, 14% approximately.
It is my Department's policy to promote the increased usage of recycled paper on an ongoing basis although this is not always possible due to lack of availability and extra costs of recycled products. I should however point out that most of the paper used by my Department is issued for recycling. A new system has recently been introduced to facilitate a higher level of recycling by all staff in head office.
