Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 February 2007
616 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when the scheme for the disposal of silage wrap will be extended to south Tipperary, as the present situation is causing a lot of problems for farmers. [5157/07]
Amharc ar fhreagraTo address the issue of accumulated backlogs of farm plastic, designated facilities are being provided on a temporary, once-off basis by local authorities where farmers may deposit stockpiled farm film plastic and silage wrap. This arrangement operated on a pilot basis in the first instance in counties Galway, Clare, Mayo, Offaly and Waterford during June and July of last year. This service is free to the farmer and funding to assist the local authorities is being made available from my Department through the Environment Fund.
The collections were well supported by farmers in the counties participating in the pilot phase, leading to large quantities of plastic being deposited at designated sites. A significant finding from the pilot scheme is that it is not possible to operate collections in a large number of counties at the same time due to capacity constraints on the part of recovery operators. Accordingly, it was necessary to roll out the scheme to other areas on a staggered basis. Arising from a comprehensive examination of the information available, I approved further collections of waste silage / bale wrap by Leitrim, Roscommon, Carlow, Longford, North Tipperary and Wicklow County Councils which recently concluded. Announcements regarding further extensions of collections to other areas, including South Tipperary, will follow a review of this second phase of the scheme.
