Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 June 2022
67. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the expected yield from the 20 cent levy on disposable beverage containers in 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28351/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 (‘the Bill’) aims to support Ireland’s transition to a circular economy by providing the necessary legislative basis for several key measures including the Circular Economy Strategy; the Circular Economy Programme; the National Food Loss Prevention Roadmap; and the Circular Economy Fund.
The Bill will also provide for the power to introduce environmental levies on certain single-use disposable items, including single-use disposable cups, containers and packaging, and to prohibit their placing on the market where a suitable re-usable alternative is, or could be made, readily available. These levies will work in a similar way to the plastic bag levy, which has been so successful in tackling plastic bag litter, and all proceeds will be ringfenced in a Circular Economy Fund to support environmental projects and initiatives. These new environmental levies will be introduced incrementally, with the initial focus on the introduction of levies on single-use disposable hot drinks cups later this year.
Revenue generated will, of course, be determined by numbers of disposable cups used following the introduction of the levy. However, it is important to note that this environmental levy is not primarily intended as a revenue raising measure, but rather as a means of incentivising increased use of affordable, re-usable alternatives to disposable coffee cups. Such cups are single use items which represent an almost entirely avoidable waste stream. In that context, the more successful the levy is in terms of affecting behavioural change the lower the revenue generated.
