Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

"Iris Oifigiúil" of 4th December, 2015.

I, ALAN KELLY, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive 94/62/EC1 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 1994 on packaging and packaging waste as amended by Directive 2004/12/EC2 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 and Commission Directive 2013/2/EU3 of 7 February 2013, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Packaging) (Amendment) Regulations 2015.

Interpretation

2. In these Regulations, "Principle Regulations" means the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 282 of 2014 ).

Amendment of Regulation 35 of the Principle Regulations

3. Regulation 35 of the Principle Regulations is amended by substituting the following for Regulation 35 (4):

"(4) A person guilty of an offence under-

(a) regulations 10 or 15 of these Regulations is liable on summary conviction to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both,

(b) any other regulation of these regulations is liable-

(i) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, or

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or both."

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

24 November 2015.

ALAN KELLY,

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 282 of 2014 ) and are designed to promote the recovery and recycling of packaging waste. They are intended, in particular, to facilitate the achievement of the targets for the recovery of packaging waste established by Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste as amended by European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/12/EC of 11 February 2004 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste.