Labour slams Govt’s deal with chewing-gum manufacturers

The Labour Party has criticised the Government's decision to abandon its planned chewing-gum tax in favour of an anti-litter campaign funded by manufacturers like Wrigleys.

Reports this morning said the manufacturers had agreed to provide €2m in funding annually as part of a deal with Environment Minister Dick Roche.

This morning's reports said the proposed tax would have raised between €4m and €5m annually, but Mr Roche was insisting that the new deal with manufacturers would be more effective in reducing litter.

However, Labour spokesman Eamon Gilmore said he believed the opposite was the case.

"I'm disappointed that the Government has caved in to the chewing-gum manufacturers, who have been looking for this kind of deal for some time," he said.

"The original idea was that a levy would be imposed and that the proceeds of that levy would then be used to clean up the chewing-gum that sticks to footpaths and gets stuck on the heel of people's shoes."