Yesterday the European Commission set out a whole series of new rules to discourage single-use plastics across the EU. The rules have been put forward to the Parliament and are proposed to be obligatory. They mirror exactly the provisions contained in our Waste Reduction Bill 2017. Last week the committee voted to put that Bill through to Committee Stage.

It is clear that no cost would be incurred by the Exchequer in implementing the provisions, yet the requirement for a money message has still been attached to it. Will the Government allow it to proceed to Committee Stage in order that we might debate how it will be implemented and listen to what the European Commission states needs to be done in what it yesterday described as a race to the top? According to it, there is urgency attached to states doing this work. We have the legislation and carried out the analysis.

I am not sure it is clear that it has no Exchequer implications, but if it does, the Oireachtas will seek a money message. I am not sure if it has done it yet, but if it determines that it has Exchequer implications, it will have to seek a money message. I am not sure if that has been done and will have to check.

Like the Government, I welcome the proposals from the European Commission that were published yesterday. They are very much in line with our own thinking and what we want to do as a Government in the next couple of years to reduce the amount of plastic waste and make sure more plastic is recycled. It makes sense, because of the Single Market, that we do this on a Europe-wide basis and not have different laws in different countries at different times.