Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 13 January 2026
382. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the dates on which he and-or his officials met with representatives from the deposit return scheme; if the value of unreturned deposits was disclosed, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1649/26]
View answer383. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if there is a requirement for the body in charge of operating the deposit return scheme to regularly report the value and level of unreturned deposits; the frequency and the dates upon which he received it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1650/26]
View answer384. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the regulation that exists for the allocation of not returned deposits as part of the deposit return scheme; if there are rules which mandate how this money can be spent and how long a deposit must be retained before it is spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1651/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 382 to 384, inclusive, together.
The governance and oversight framework for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is set out in the Separate Collection (Deposit Return Scheme) Regulations 2024 (S.I. No. 33 of 2024) (the 2024 Regulations), the Ministerial Approval issued to Re-turn under those regulations and the Code of Corporate Governance for Compliance Schemes.
Regulation 4 of the 2024 Regulations provides how the costs of operating a scheme shall be recouped by the scheme operator and this includes from unredeemed deposits.
Regulation 5 of the 2024 Regulations provides for the conditions attaching to an Approval issued to an Approved Body for the purposes of DRS and this includes providing the Minister with all reasonable information to verify compliance with the Regulations.
Further detailed obligations on Re-turn, the scheme operator, are set out in the Approval issued under the 2024 Regulations. Those obligations include the requirement to report to the Minister annually on operational and financial matters.
In July 2025, Re-turn published its 2024 Annual Report & Financial Statements. A link to the report can be found here: re-turn.ie/wp-content/uploads/2024-Annual-Report.pdf
On page 14 of its Annual Report, Re-turn outlines how unredeemed deposits are being reinvested by the organisation (Chief Executive's Review, Unredeemed Deposits).
On page 54 of its Annual Report, Re-turn provides clarifications around its financial treatment of unredeemed deposits, including its treatment of the timing of redemptions (Notes to the Financial Statements, 4. (b) Critical accounting estimates and assumptions).
Re-turn is responsible for all operational and funding matters relating to DRS and while I have no function in the day-to-day business operations, officials from the Department monitor performance of the scheme closely and meet with Re-turn monthly to review progress. Quarterly meetings are held to discuss strategic priorities and governance matters and this includes an update on unredeemed deposits.
At the most recent quarterly meeting in December 2025, Re-turn reported to the Department, for the first 9 months of 2025, the accrual of a further €55.1m in unredeemed deposits, before VAT at 23%. This figures is provisional and subject to final audit. Appendix 1 at the link below details the dates when meetings took place in 2025 and to date in 2026.
In addition to these meetings with officials, I have met with Re-turn's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on two occasions - 26 March and 25 November, 2025. At these meetings, the company gave me an overview of Re-turn’s operations to date and future plans.
I understand that Minister O'Brien also met with the CEO of Re-turn on 23 May, when a general discussion took place regarding the Scheme's progress to date and future development plans.
