The Government has approved the introduction of a 10p levy on every plastic bag used by shoppers. It is intended to have the new charge in place by the end of the summer.
With an estimated 1.2 billion plastic bags used in the State every year, the levy could result in a yield of more than £100 million.
The Cabinet last week agreed the radical proposal from the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, as part of his campaign to reduce the State's growing mountain of waste.
Sources emphasised that the charge was not a tax and therefore would not be going directly to the Exchequer. Instead, the money generated will be put into a fund to finance environmental projects.
How the charge will be introduced, and whether it will require legislation, is currently being examined by Department officials. It is hoped that the levy can be introduced under existing waste-management legislation, which means shoppers would have to start paying the charge within weeks.
Officials are also looking at how best the levy can be collected from supermarkets and shops before an official announcement is made by the Department.
Fianna Fail promised in advance of the last general election to introduce a tax on plastic bags to discourage their use.
A consultants' report to the Minister last December recommended a levy of between 3p and 10p on plastic bags. However, while the report recommended that the levy should be paid by supermarkets or by the suppliers of plastic bags, the Minister has decided that it is the shopper who should pay.
He has also won approval from his Cabinet colleagues for the higher charge of 10p a bag. It is understood that he feels consumers will have to be hit as hard as possible if they are to change their shopping habits.
In the past the Minister has expressed concern that too many plastic bags end up as litter and threaten the ecosystem, natural habitats and wildlife.
The idea of the levy is to encourage shoppers to use recyclable or biodegradable paper bags for their shopping.
Recently Superquinn experimented by introducing a charge of 10p per plastic bag, with the proceeds going to charity.