More than €120 million in funds were left unredeemed in the first two years of the Deposit Return Scheme because customers did not bring back their empty bottles and cans.
Re-turn CEO Ciarán Foley confirmed the figure during the latest meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate, reports RTE.
Asked by Fine Gael TD John Clendennen how much money had effectively been lost due to people not returning their empty cans and bottles to the machines, Mr Foley said this amounted to more than €120 million in the first two years of the scheme.
He said this includes €66.7 million in 2024 and €60 million in 2025, reports RTE.
Deputy Clendennen also asked Sara Orme, Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association National President, how long it will take for a deposit return machine to pay for itself.
“It may take at least five years for a machine to pay for itself,” she said, reports RTE.
The committee also heard from Social Democrats climate spokesperson Jennifer Whitmore who, after asking how many people are on the Re-turn board, questioned the group on the challenges some people with disabilities have in using the machines.
Deputy Whitmore pointed out it is “a legal requirement” for the Re-turn scheme to be accessible for people with disabilities, reports RTE.
She added that despite the scheme having “a very large budget,” officials “still can’t tell me” how this is done in practical terms.
Mr Foley said Ireland is “leading the way” in relation to the issue and that “many EU countries come to see what Ireland has done,” reports RTE.
Deputy Whitmore responded: “To me, that would mean the bar is set very low in Europe.”
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