Consumers are to be charged up to 10p for every plastic shopping bag they use under a plan to be brought to Government in the new year.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has proposed the charge following a consultants' report which recommended a levy of between 3p and 10p on each plastic bag.
However, while the report from Fehily Timoney of Cork recommended that the levy be paid by supermarkets or plastic bag producers, the Minister feels the shopper should pay.
A Department source confirmed last night that Mr Dempsey favoured the top end of the levy.
The Minister is keen that the levy would be in the form of a charge rather than a tax which would automatically go back into the Exchequer. He wants the proceeds of the charge to be put into a fund for various environmental projects.
An estimated 1.2 billion bags, or 800 per household per year, are used in this State.
Mr Dempsey wants to have the new charge in place by July of next year. It is not clear if the charge can be implemented under existing waste management structures or if new legislation would be required.