Glaoim ar an Teachta Eamon Ryan.

After last night's debate on waste, I went home to my own house to see what we were doing. There is a cupboard in which we put waste before it goes into the bin. I am sure everyone else knows the expression: when I opened up the cupboard, suddenly an avalanche of stuff came out. We are awash with it. We are being drowned in tonnes of plastics.

We are in the Houses of Parliament on national television.

Polypropylene-----

That is not allowed.

Polyethylene-----

Has the Deputy any dirty socks in that bag?

Any green tea bags?

Advertisements are not allowed in the House.

Polystyrene-----

We will have to move on to Questions on Promised Legislation.

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

There is no point of order on Leaders' Questions.

Why can I not ask my question?

The Deputy is not entitled to have a point of order on Leaders' Questions.

I can ask my question.

The Deputy is entitled to ask a question, but I ask him to remove that stuff from the desk.

Recycle it.

There must be some dignity in the House. Normally, the Deputy is-----

Could the clock be stopped so that I have time to ask the question?

Normally, Deputy Ryan acts in a dignified fashion and I would ask him to continue in that way.

I am acting in a dignified fashion, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Can I ask the question?

Straight out of the Mattie McGrath school of politics.

The Deputy can ask the question. He has one minute left.

Can we restart the clock because I have not had the time to ask it?

No. The clock has started.

We are drowning in plastic.

Pay by weight.

Please, Deputy McGrath.

The use of plastic has increased 25-fold in my lifetime.

I ask Deputies to please give Deputy Ryan an opportunity.

It is growing at 5% per annum. Some 150 million tonnes of that plastic is now in our seas. We are adding a dump truck every minute. We have to stop this and cut out the waste. It is not easy. It takes attention. This is vital to the question of how much people have to pay, because rather than having to pay for all that and work out whether it is recycling, which most of it is not when 40% of that plastic ends up in the dump, we need to start to make it easy for the householder to do the right thing. That is why I make this point, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

Yesterday, I wrote a letter to each of the party leaders and group leaders asking if they would support our Waste Reduction Bill, which does two things that the best international research, such as the New Plastics Economy paper from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, recommends as simple measures in order to start doing the right thing. It proposes the introduction a returned deposit of 10 cent on bottles and containers so that householders, rather than seeing these bottles go out to be dumped, can see them saved, recycled and used again. Second, the Bill proposes a ban on plastic cups. These cups are not recyclable. One would think they were with the logo on them, but they are not. However, there are instead alternatives-----

The Deputy had agreed to remove those items from the desk. The Taoiseach to respond.

-----such as bioplastic bases, which are usable.

The Taoiseach to respond.

Can I ask my question?

I do not think the Deputy should be acting in that fashion.

I am not being disrespectful. I am just trying to make a point. I also recognise that we have done a lot of good. We have increased our recycling over the last 15 or 20 years. However, at this point when the householder is going to have to pay for all that stuff that goes into the black bin, will the Taoiseach and his Government introduce and support the Waste Reduction Bill that we have produced? Every environmental NGO of note has stated its support for it. I heard Deputy Sherlock make a similar point in the House last night. We have to review what we are doing with Repak and not just change the charging system, but change the way we manage waste.

The Taoiseach to respond.

Will the Taoiseach support our Bill, give a 10 cent deposit back on these bottles and containers and cut out these coffee cups so that we help people to reduce the amount of waste they create?

I was here when the Deputy introduced the Bill. I have not had the chance to read it yet. We will certainly consider it when it is brought to the floor of the House. I think Deputy Ryan will agree with what we are trying to achieve here. First, we want to reward people who recycle, reuse, compost and reduce their waste. It is not right that somebody who does not do those things should pay the same as somebody who does. We want to make sure people who do the right thing by their community and by the environment, and who reuse, reduce, recycle and compost pay less than those who do not. That is a part of the reason for the move away from flat charges to the pay-by-lift or pay-by-weight arrangement, which already exists in at least half the country.

We also want to make it easier for people to do the right thing and make the right choices. That is why it will now be a requirement to provide the brown bin in any population centre of more than 500. That will be in place quite soon.

In addition, the Minister is looking at introducing large-scale recycling bins outside supermarkets to reduce waste at source in order that people who buy things in a supermarket would be able to dispose of the packaging inside or outside it. For a start, that would be of benefit to them in reducing their waste, but, second, it would make supermarkets and manufacturers think twice about the packaging they use if it went straight back to them and never even managed to make it to somebody's home.

We will also introduce a new scheme to manage end-of-life vehicles to stop and reduce the dumping of vehicles. We will also launch a new scheme to manage waste tyres which we will believe will help to tackle the widespread dumping of used tyres, in country areas in particular.

I asked other leaders yesterday whether they would support this Bill and perhaps even go further and give of their time because we do not receive a huge amount of Private Members' time. I am fairly confident that if it were to get onto the floor of the House - I hope it will and if any party wants to help us in that regard, we will work with it - it would carry the day.

Yes.

I am fairly confident that we would have the numbers in this House to get the measure through. I am supportive of the Minister. It is not an easy job, but he has signalled today that he does not want to change the current system. That is the point I am making. We need to win the hearts and minds of the people and not turn this into another water charges row. We have to be seen as not just changing the charging system but helping people by introducing a deposit refund scheme and cutting out waste at source. This is a very concrete, specific and achievable measure. The Taoiseach will have to win over the Minister and his Department as they do not want to do it because it would be tough and not easy, but it is being done in France where these cups will be banned by 2020. In loads of countries the deposit is given back and they have seen recycling rates go up to 90%. I hope the Bill will be brought to the floor of the House. If we do not have wait several months and can get another party to be the lead party, we would have a majority in the House. I am asking the Government to reconsider its position and support such practical measures in order that the people would know that we were making it easier for them to cut back on the black bin charge.

The Government is certainly open to considering any idea that might achieve the objectives we share, which are to reduce waste and protect the environment. To the best of my recollection, the Bill has not yet come before the Cabinet; therefore, there has not yet been a Government decision on it. We will need to study it. First, we need to ensure it will not transgress any rule relating to the Single Market and will not raise revenue implications. If, however, it is something that is being done in other European countries, perhaps it might be done here. The Government has an open mind in considering good ideas that will allow us to reduce waste and protect the environment.