Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 July 2026
225. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of concerns (details supplied); the dates on which he has met to address this matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54606/26]
View answerSince January 2025, when the UK government announced its plans to establish a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in October 2027, the Department and Re-turn have worked at official level with the UK and Northern Ireland authorities to understand and address any issues associated with the operation of two DRS schemes on the island.
Earlier this year, I invited the Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir to visit the jurisdiction to see the DRS in action and to discuss matters in common. While we have not yet settled a date for our meeting, on 10 June 2026 Minister Muir and ‘Exchange for Change’, the UK scheme operator saw DRS in operation here with the support of Re-turn.
Regarding safeguards for the Irish scheme and its operators along the border, Re-Turn advises that 89% of DRS products placed on the market in the State have a country-specific barcode which means any deposit can be redeemed in this jurisdiction only. This reduces the incentive to take containers across the border for redemption for the higher deposit proposed. The remaining 11% of products have international barcodes. The producers of these containers are already paying a specific surcharge to Re-turn for this facility, mitigating the potential cost to the scheme for products brought in or returned from another jurisdiction.
I understand from Re-turn that both scheme operators are currently discussing the issue of potential cross-border movements and exchange of materials and any associated financial implications.
