An anti-litter business group has described the abandonment of a consumer tax on chewing gum as a "lost opportunity".
Tom Cavanagh, chairman of Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) said the success of the smoking ban led to companies lobbying against a chewing gum tax because they feared it would be copied by other countries, as is the case with the smoking ban.
Tom Cavanagh, chairman of Irish Business Against Litter
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has abandoned the tax in favour of gum-makers, banks and fast-food companies being asked to contribute multi-million-euro levies which will be allocated to local authorities to clear litter arising from these products. It is understood he is seeking between €4 million to €5 million from the gum industry.
The Government was heavily lobbied by industry with gum manufacturer Wrigleys, McDonald's, and the Irish Bankers' Federation all arguing against consumer charges like the plastic bag tax.
IBAL had asked the Department of Environment to impose a 20 per cent mandatory tax on chewing gum that would generate €20 million a year to help fund street-cleaning measures.
The total street-cleaning costs for local authorities in 2003 was €70 million. However, only 2.74 million was raised in litter fines. "In our survey of litter in Ireland, chewing gum emerges as the single biggest problem by far," said Mr Cavanagh.
"They're making profit after profit. Now they lobby our Government to let them go ahead making a profit, but is damaging our countryside. It's very arrogant for businesses to say 'let us continue, the damage we do is irrelevant'", he said.
Defending his decision not to impose a tax the Minster said : "This [the levies] will give these sectors - the producers of the items concerned which end up as litter - an opportunity to propose positive and meaningful measures to minimise the impact of the items they produce in causing nuisance litter.
"While citizens have a civic responsibility not to cause litter, the producers of problematic litter items also have a responsibility and need to be more proactive in minimising the litter pollution caused by the items they produce. "It is only through intensive anti-litter activities and concerted co-ordinated action that we will be able to successfully address the litter problem in Ireland."
Mr Roche's spokesman added: "Nobody should be under any illusions. If that sector fails to propose meaningful measures encompassing an appropriate level of funding to address the problems caused within a short timeframe, the application of a mandatory levy on chewing gum will be back on the agenda."
Business lobby group IBEC welcomed the decision as it claimed a directed tax such as the plastic bag tax would be ineffective in changing consumer beahviour . IBEC's food and drinks industry director Rosemary Garth said "we believe that the best way to achieve a longterm solution is through education, and the enforcement of litter fines."