Beggs notes lack of legislation to reduce plastic bag use.

Speaking in a debate on a ban or tax on plastic carrier bags in the Assembly, Roy Beggs MLA has noted that the lack of legislation coming forward on this and other issues is a sign that the DUP/ Sinn Fein dominated Executive is not working.

The East Antrim Ulster Unionist said:

"This is yet another 'take note' debate in a legislative Assembly which is not making laws and not functioning properly. Ironically this is mainly because of the intransigence of the party which the proposers of the motion are members of. This pretend politics must come to an end. We were elected to a legislative Assembly not a talking shop hamstrung by mutual veto… Nevertheless, the motion is timely in the sense that today with the leaves off most of the trees, evidence of the damage which plastic bags do to our environment is blatantly apparent in our hedgerows."

Mr Beggs detailed the environmental damage that plastic bags, most of which do not biodegrade cause.

In terms of reducing the use of plastic bags, The UUP MLA said:

"In recent years, individual small towns across the UK have effectively banned plastic bags through community action and voluntary agreements amongst traders. Education is vital. How many of us challenge the automatic retail sales process of stuffing everything into plastic bags. I pay tribute to the voluntary action of tens of thousands of our citizens who have already bought into the idea of a bag for life and are refusing the offer of plastic bags at the till.

Some credit must be given to our neighbours in the Irish Republic. In March 2002, they became the first country to introduce a plastic bag tax, payable at the checkout counter to try to address the problem. However, I would urge some caution before we simply adopt the southern model. It is well documented that plastic bag usage was initially reduced by 90% and £93M was generated for environmental improvement schemes. The number of bags used in the Republic dropped to 85 million in a year after the levy was introduced; however it was back up to 115 million in 2005 and has risen steadily since.

At the other end of the spectrum from imposing a levy at the till is the call to simply ban plastic bags, championed by, amongst others, the Daily Mail. This seems an attractive and popular proposition. French MPs have unanimously voted to ban non-biodegradable plastic carrier bags by 2010.

Again, however the practical reality of imposing a nationwide ban on plastic bags production needs to be carefully considered. Will the law of unintended consequences come into play? What of the carbon footprint of production and transport costs for alternatives? These sorts of issues have obviously been considered in other jurisdictions. We in Northern Ireland should take advantage of the research which has already taken place into solving this problem".

Summing up, Roy Beggs MLA said:

"To conclude, whilst I have no difficulty in supporting this take note motion- nor should any member- this Assembly needs to do more than simply talk about it."