Dáil Committee to discuss Prohibition of Micro Plastics Bill
The proposed law from Labour TD, Sean Sherlock that would ban the use of micoplastics in Ireland will be subject to detailed scrutiny at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government from 9.30am on Wednesday 28th March in Committee Room 1.
The Committee members will hear from Dr. Anne Marie Mahon and Dr. Róisín Nash of GMIT, Dr. Kevin Lynch, Head of Discipline in Geography at NUIG, and officials from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
Deputy Sherlock said:
“I look forward to the detailed scrutiny at committee tomorrow of my proposed law that would ban the use of microplastics, as this is an area of legislation which clearly has cross-party support and I hope it can progress swiftly to become law.
“If passed, Labour’s Prohibition of Micro-Plastics Bill would ban the use of microbeads and other micro-plastics in cosmetic and personal products by making it an offence to manufacture sell or advertise any products that use microbeads.
“The use of microbeads in cosmetic and personal products is entirely unnecessary and likely to have damaging impacts on our marine environment.
“Studies have shown they can be ingested by marine animals, leading to physical harm and have reproductive or toxic effects.
“While many people in Ireland already choose not to buy products that contain microbeads, we need an industry standard across the board that is backed up by legislation.
“As with all issues regarding our environment, time is of the essence.”