Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

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Environmental levy

11. (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may, with the consent of the Government, make regulations providing that there shall be chargeable, leviable and payable, a levy (in this Part referred to as an “environmental levy”) in respect of the following:

(a) the supply to a customer, in or at such class or classes of retail premises as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section, of any or all of the following:

(i) single-use cups;

(ii) single-use containers;

(iii) single-use packaging;

(iv) such class or classes of the single-use items referred to in subparagraphs (i) to (iii) as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section;

(v) such class or classes of re-usable alternative items as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section;

(b) the supply to a customer of plastic bags or such class or classes of plastic bags as the Minister may prescribe for the purposes of this section in or at any or all of the following:

(i) a supermarket;

(ii) a service station;

(iii) such other class or classes of retail premises as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section.

(2) In making regulations under subsection (1) in relation to the supply of a single-use item or a class or classes of single-use item or a class or classes of re-usable alternative item, the Minister shall have regard to the level of material wastage associated with the single-use item or, as the case may be, the class or classes of single-use item, or, as the case may be, the class or classes of re-usable alternative item, concerned, including by reason of—

(a) where an amount is charged for the supply of that item or class or classes of item, as the case may be, to a customer, that amount, or

(b) where no amount is so charged, that fact.

(3) Regulations may be made by the Minister under subsection (1) in relation to the supply of a single use item or a class or classes of single-use item or a class or classes of re-usable alternative item, as the case may be, only where he or she is satisfied that, in respect of the single-use item or, as the case may be, the class or classes of single-use item, or the class or classes of re-usable alternative items concerned, a suitable re-usable alternative item or class of such item or a suitable alternative item or class of such item with a lower level of material wastage, having regard to the purpose for which, and circumstances in which, the single-use item or class of single-use item or class of re-usable alternative item concerned is supplied, is, or could be made, readily available.

(4) The amount of the environmental levy in respect of each single-use item or, as the case may be, each class of single-use item or, as the case may be, each class of re-usable alternative item prescribed under subsection (1)(a)(v), shall be such amount as may be prescribed in respect of the single-use item concerned, or, as the case may be, the class or classes of single-use item concerned, having regard to the aim of—

(a) reducing the generation of waste, and

(b) reducing the use of the single-use item, or, as the case may be, the class of single-use item concerned,

and shall not, in any case, in respect of each single-use item supplied to a customer be less than €0.20 or more than €1.00.

(5) The Minister may, subject to subsections (6) and (7), alter the amount of the levy specified in regulations under subsection (1) for the purposes of promoting—

(a) a reduction in the generation of waste, and

(b) a reduction in the use of the single-use item or class of single-use item, as the case may be,

once and once only in each financial year beginning with the financial year following the financial year in which this section comes into operation.

(6) The amount to which the amount of the levy standing specified in regulations under subsection (1) may be altered shall, subject to subsection (7), be obtained by multiplying the amount of the levy standing specified for the time being in regulations made under subsection (1) by the figure specified in subsection (8) and if—

(a) the amount so obtained is not a whole number of cent, and

(b) the Minister considers it appropriate to do so and specifies in the regulations that the amount has so been rounded,

rounding (up or down as he or she thinks fit) the amount to the nearest whole number of cent.

(7) The Minister may, where he or she considers it appropriate for the purposes referred to in subsection (5), add, to the amount obtained in accordance with subsection (6), a figure which is not greater than 10 per cent of the amount of the levy standing specified in regulations under subsection (1) and if—

(a) the amount so obtained is not a whole number of cent, and

(b) the Minister considers it appropriate to do so, and specifies in the regulations that the amount has been so rounded,

rounding (up or down as he or she thinks fit) the amount to the nearest whole number of cent.

(8) The figure mentioned in subsection (6) is the quotient, rounded up to 3 decimal places, obtained by dividing the consumer price index number relevant to the financial year in which the regulations amending the levy are made by the consumer price index number relevant to the financial year in which the regulations amending the levy were last made.

(9) Regulations under subsection (1)—

(a) may make provision for any matter stated in this section or section 12 as prescribed or to be prescribed and different regulations may be made in respect of different classes of matter the subject of the prescribing concerned,

(b) shall provide for the matters referred to in section 12 (2) and

(c) may provide for the matters referred to in section 12 (3).

(10) In this section, “consumer price index number” means the All Items Consumer Price Index Number compiled by the Central Statistics Office and a reference to the “consumer price index number relevant to the financial year” is a reference to the consumer price index number at such date in that year as is determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(11) A relevant re-usable alternative item or a class of re-usable alternative item prescribed under subsection (1) (a) (v) shall not be considered to be a suitable re-usable alternative item or class of such item or a suitable alternative item or class of such item for the purposes of subsection (3) .