Minister for the Environment Dick Roche will confirm today that the Government has abandoned plans, opposed by the US ambassador, to introduce consumer taxes on chewing gum to defray the cost of cleaning it off streets.
It has also decided not to go ahead with a similar proposal to tax bank-machine receipts and fast-food wrappings.
Instead, in a move to be announced today, Mr Roche will ask gum-makers, banks and fast-food companies to pay multi-million-euro levies to help local authorities to clear the litter.
The development reverses an initiative championed by Mr Roche's predecessor, Martin Cullen, who favoured consumer charges as an anti-litter measure similar to the tax on plastic bags.
The decision follows heavy lobbying of the Government by commercial interests such as the giant US gum-maker Wrigley, the McDonald's fast-food chain and the Irish Bankers' Federation.
According to informed sources, US ambassador James Kenny lobbied the Government for the Wrigley Corporation at a meeting in Mr Roche's department on October 18th.
The US embassy in Dublin confirmed that Mr Kenny spoke in favour of the company, and indicated that he had made similar interventions in the past.
"The ambassador makes these interventions in a whole range of sectors in pursuit of US interests and on behalf of US firms. This was just a case where the ambassador saw US interests at play and decided to get involved," said an embassy spokesman.
Mr Roche will disclose today that he has decided to seek an agreement with the gum-makers in the light of the case they made to him during a public consultation process.
The decision is at variance with the recommendation to the Government from McIver Consulting and Patel Tonra Environmental Consultants, who called for a mandatory levy on packets of gum.
However, Mr Roche will say that he wants to give the sector an opportunity to propose an action plan to address the litter problem caused by gum. He will warn that a mandatory levy will be back on the agenda if the sector fails to propose within a short timeframe "meaningful measures".
The Minister is understood to be demanding a levy of €4 million to €5 million from the gum industry.
Such a sum is the equivalent of the money that would have been raised if a 5-cent tax was levied on every packet of gum sold in the Irish market.
He will also say today that he is seeking a commitment from the fast-food industry to phase out polystyrene wrapping in favour of biodegradable materials. He wants to include such a commitment in an agreement from that industry to pay a levy for cleaning costs.
Mr Roche also received submissions from the Supermacs fast-food group, the Dublin City Business Association and the European Food Service and Packaging Association.
