Sir, – Further to "Tyre retailers critical of new recycling levy" (December 16th), Ireland is not groaning under the weight of hundreds of thousands of illegally disposed tyres. The EPA, Ireland's environmental watchdog, has confirmed this publicly.
The introduction of tyre waste regulations in 2007 was welcomed and supported by the vast majority of Irish tyre-shop owners. In contrast, this newly proposed legislation has been rejected, after exhaustive negotiations, by the industry’s two representative bodies, the Irish Tyre Industry Association and the Independent Tyre Wholesalers and Retailers Association. Both have withdrawn from further negotiations on the basis that an environmental levy of €3.88 per car tyre, as is being proposed by the Department of the Environment and promoted by Repak ELT, is an unnecessary cost to consumers, administratively burdensome for small businesses and commercially disruptive. This legislation will not apply to traders in Northern Ireland. The only problem with current legislation is that it was never enforced!
There is plenty of evidence of the commercial disruption is caused when legislation is not harmonised with that in Northern Ireland. Fuel, home heating oil, bale wrap and electrical goods are all traded illegally in Border counties as a result of divergent legislation. The Department of the Environment will soon add tyres to this list, further fuelling the black economy and criminal activity along the Border.
In spite of numerous submissions and exhaustive meetings, none of the concerns expressed by the industry has been addressed by the department or Repak ELT, nor has a business plan been presented. Hundreds of jobs are at stake as a result of this inept and ill-conceived legislative proposal. – Yours, etc,
NIALL D MURRAY,
Managing Director,
TractaMotors,
Dublin Road,
Cavan.