Consumers will have to pay for using plastic bags while doing their shopping.
To address the growing problem of litter and pollution from plastic bags, the government is proposing the introduction of a levy on plastic bags to discourage their use.
Over a billion plastic bags are handed out free each year in Irish shops and supermarkets.
Minister for the Environment Noel Dempsey is committed to the introduction a tax on every plastic bag. It is envisaged that the levy would be between three and ten pence per bag.
The tax would be put on suppliers but it's expected that it would be passed on to the consumer.
The move would require a change in the customer mindset and a move to the use of reusable bags. Shoppers asked about the proposal say they would be reluctant to pay for a plastic bag.
I certainly wouldn't use the amount of bags that I've used today if I thought I was going to pay for it.
This is just one measure to address the problem of 15,000 tonnes of plastic going to landfill sites every year.
An Taisce has welcomed the proposa, Elizabeth Donnelly says that Irish people as individuals create more waste than any of our European counterparts and this needs to change.
Reducing the amount of plastic bags that we're using is a small change.
Not everyone is in favour of the proposal. The Irish plastics industry is taking advice around the legalities of the plan.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 20 August 1999. The reporter is Anne Marie Smyth.
