Michael Fitzmaurice raises concern over plastic levy and missing tonnes
Michael Fitzmaurice raised concerns about the handling of the plastic levy, saying thousands of tonnes of plastic are outside IFFPG while levy payments were made. He questioned discrepancies in levy receipts and account balances and proposed asking the Minister to amend the SI to help entrepreneurs set up recycling options.
Michael Fitzmaurice said a contractor gave evidence that their contract ceased the last day they were in and estimated around the country there is "probably 10,000 tonne, at least" of plastic that the levy has been paid on but that sits outside IFFPG. He also referred to a figure of 24,000 tonne circulating around the country in the same context.
He highlighted that $2.8 million had been paid in for material that he said IFFPG had not handled, yet the organisation reportedly had only about $3 million in its account. Fitzmaurice repeatedly questioned how levy receipts, tonnes reported and account balances reconciled, asking whether the chain of responsibility had been broken.
Fitzmaurice pressed that if plastic is outside the system and there is no safe way of dealing with it, that is a worrying situation for the department. He framed the issue as a factual concern about treatment capacity and accountability rather than a hypothetical scenario.
Before concluding he proposed writing to the Minister to see whether the statutory instrument (SI) could be changed to facilitate entrepreneurs. Fitzmaurice suggested amending the SI so that a new recycling plant or entrepreneur would not be excluded and would have options in-country, referring to the risk that they could be left out in a "€200 nation."
Allegations of tonnes outside IFFPG
Michael Fitzmaurice said a contractor gave evidence that their contract ceased the last day they were in and estimated around the country there is "probably 10,000 tonne, at least" of plastic that the levy has been paid on but that sits outside IFFPG. He also referred to a figure of 24,000 tonne circulating around the country in the same context.
Discrepancies in levy payments and accounts
He highlighted that $2.8 million had been paid in for material that he said IFFPG had not handled, yet the organisation reportedly had only about $3 million in its account. Fitzmaurice repeatedly questioned how levy receipts, tonnes reported and account balances reconciled, asking whether the chain of responsibility had been broken.
Safety and treatment concerns
Fitzmaurice pressed that if plastic is outside the system and there is no safe way of dealing with it, that is a worrying situation for the department. He framed the issue as a factual concern about treatment capacity and accountability rather than a hypothetical scenario.
Proposal to change the SI to support entrepreneurs
Before concluding he proposed writing to the Minister to see whether the statutory instrument (SI) could be changed to facilitate entrepreneurs. Fitzmaurice suggested amending the SI so that a new recycling plant or entrepreneur would not be excluded and would have options in-country, referring to the risk that they could be left out in a "€200 nation."
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Transcript
Round the country, outside IFFPG, for one reason or another, the last day that they were in, there was a contractor who gave evidence here who stated that their contract was ceased that day. But on average, if you tally it around the country, there's probably 10,000 tonne, at least, I mean, of plastic that the levy has been paid on that's outside IFFPG. They've got paid $2.8 million. Would it not worry you if there was $2.8 million paid in for stuff you hadn't handled and you still hadn't had only $3 million in your account and there was 24,000 tonne around the country? Would that not worry you as a department? Obviously, if the plastic is outside the system and there's nothing to treat it. Hold on, it's been ped for. Let's be clear on that. It's ped for. It's ped for on imports. Would it not worry you? Well, if the chain of responsibility has been broken... I'm not talking about the chains. I'm talking about the figures. Yeah. If there's 10,000 tonne that a levy is being paid on, outside of it, that someone else picked up the money and there's still only $3 million in their account, along with 24,000 tonne heading around the country, then how are you? I don't know. Are you talking about a true situation or a hypothetical situation? I'm talking about a factual situation, not hypothetical. Would that not worry you? Well, if there's no safe way of dealing with the plastic, I would be worried. Yes, absolutely. Chair, I'm just going to propose one thing before I finish. That we'd write to the Minister to see, could the SI be changed? I've talked about entrepreneurs of differing people, and I would ask you to consider that we'd write to the Minister to change the SI to try and facilitate if someone could do it. that there'd be options in this country, if we have an entrepreneur that sets up a recycling plant or whatever, that they wouldn't be left out of this €200 nation. Chair, I'd like to...