Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

Circular Economy Fund

8. (1) There shall stand established on the coming into operation of this section a fund which shall be known as the “Circular Economy Fund” and such monies (if any) that are standing to the credit of the Environment Fund on that date shall accrue to the benefit of the Circular Economy Fund on and from that date.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister shall manage and control the Circular Economy Fund.

(3) (a) The Minister may by order delegate the management and control of all or part of the Circular Economy Fund and any other functions under this section related to such management and control to a specified person and functions so delegated shall, accordingly, be performable by that person.

(b) An order under paragraph (a) may contain such ancillary and incidental provisions as the Minister considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of the delegation effected by the order.

(c) The Minister may give directions or issue guidelines to the person to whom a delegation is made under paragraph (a) in relation to the performance by the person of the functions delegated to the person by the order and that person shall comply with any such directions and perform those functions in accordance with any such guidelines.

(d) The Minister shall, before giving directions or guidelines under paragraph (c), consult with such other Minister of the Government, if any, as he or she considers appropriate.

(4) The Circular Economy Fund shall consist of such accounts in such financial institutions as the Minister may determine.

(5) The Minister shall keep all proper and usual accounts of all monies paid into the Circular Economy Fund and disbursements from the Circular Economy Fund.

(6) As soon as may be after the end of each financial year, the Minister shall submit the accounts of the Circular Economy Fund to the Comptroller and Auditor General for audit and the Minister shall cause a copy of the accounts so audited together with a copy of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General thereon to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after he or she has received them.

(7) Subject to, and in accordance with, regulations under section 53C, 73 or 73A of the Act of 1996 or section 11 (1), there shall be paid into the Circular Economy Fund the amounts specified in those regulations of financial resources or levy collected or recovered thereunder.

(8) The Minister may, out of monies provided by the Oireachtas, pay into the Circular Economy Fund in any financial year, such amount as he or she determines, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, in relation to that financial year.

(9) Without prejudice to subsection (13), the Minister may, from time to time, pay out of the Circular Economy Fund such amount of monies as he or she considers appropriate for any or all of the following purposes:

(a) to assist, support or promote any programmes or schemes established for the prevention or reduction of waste or the establishment of such programmes or schemes;

(b) to assist, support or promote any programmes or schemes established to support the circular economy or the establishment of such programmes or schemes;

(c) to assist the establishment, equipping and, where appropriate, the operation of waste re-use and recycling activities generally, or recovery activities in respect of any specified class of waste;

(d) to assist, support or promote research and development with respect to any aspect of waste management or the circular economy;

(e) to assist, support or promote the production, distribution or sale of products of a particular class, being products which possess characteristics (whether characteristics of an inherent nature or related to the process by which the products are manufactured) likely to render them less harmful to the environment than other products falling within the same class;

(f) to assist, support or promote the development of initiatives by producers of products to prevent or reduce waste arising from activities carried out by them;

(g) to assist generally in the implementation of waste management plans made by local authorities in accordance with Part II of the Act of 1996 and the hazardous waste management plan prepared by the Agency in accordance with section 26 of that Act;

(h) to facilitate or assist the enforcement of the provisions of any enactment (including this Act) relating to waste management or the prevention of litter or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment;

(i) to facilitate or assist projects, commonly known as partnership projects, that involve local authorities and the purpose of which is to improve the quality of the environment in so far as it affects a particular local community or communities;

(j) to promote awareness of the need generally to protect the environment and, in particular, to assist, support or promote national and regional campaigns the objectives of which are to encourage such awareness;

(k) to promote or support education and training that would facilitate the achievement of the objectives of campaigns referred to in paragraph (j);

(l) to assist the provision of the necessary resources, whether human or material, to enable such education and training to be carried out or facilitate the improvement of any such resources that exist for the time being;

(m) to assist, support or promote initiatives undertaken by community groups, environmental groups or other such persons with respect to the protection of any aspect of the environment;

(n) to facilitate, assist, promote or support initiatives undertaken by international organisations or other persons outside the State in respect of the protection of the environment or sustainable development, or both;

(o) other purposes in respect of the protection of the environment.

(10) (a) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (9), the Minister, or such other person as he or she may nominate, may invite proposals to avail of monies from the Circular Economy Fund for any or all of the purposes set out in paragraphs (a) to (o) of that subsection.

(b) An invitation under paragraph (a) shall be published on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Minister and shall outline the criteria to be used to assess proposals.

(11) Any payment of monies out of the Circular Economy Fund under any of paragraphs (a) to (o) of subsection (9) shall be made to the person or persons who carry on, or as the case may be, carried on, the activity which, in the opinion of the Minister, furthers the achievement of the purpose referred to in such of paragraphs (a) to (o) for which the payment is made.

(12) (a) Without prejudice to the preceding provisions of this section, the Minister may, after consulting with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, prepare and publish guidelines in respect of an activity the carrying out of which furthers the achievement of the purpose for which the payment was made.

(b) Where the Minister has published guidelines in accordance with paragraph (a) in respect of an activity, a payment shall not be made out of the Circular Economy Fund in respect of the activity if that activity is carried on otherwise than in accordance with the guidelines.

(13) (a) The Minister may from time to time pay out of the Circular Economy Fund such amount of monies as he or she determines for the purposes of defraying, in whole or in part, the expenses incurred, on or after the establishment of the Fund, by him or her or by any person to whom functions are delegated under subsection (3), in connection with the administration of the Fund.

(b) Any monies paid out of the Circular Economy Fund under paragraph (a) shall be paid into, or disposed of for the benefit of, the Exchequer in such manner as the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, may determine.

(14) The Minister may establish a committee to advise him or her with respect to the performance by him or her of his or her functions under subsection (9) or (12) and a committee so established may advise the Minister accordingly.

(15) In this section—

“financial year” means the financial year of the Circular Economy Fund;

“recovery activities” does not include incineration, whether with or without energy recovery, or export for incineration, whether with or without energy recovery;

“waste”, “re-use” and “recycling” have the meanings given to them by section 5 of the Act of 1996.