Vol. 515 No. 3
49 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps, if any, open to him to secure co-ordination between local and regional waste management strategies with a view to ensuring that the considerable investment involved produces an adequate response to national needs. [5770/00]
Under section 24 of the Waste Management Act, 1996, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government may require two or more local authorities jointly to make a waste manage ment plan, adopting a co-ordinated approach to specified matters.
The 1998 policy statement on waste management, Changing our Ways, encouraged local authorities to adopt a regional approach to the waste management planning process with a view to the more efficient provision of services and infrastructure. Grant assistance of more than £1.1 million was provided for local authorities under the EU-funded Operational Programme for Environmental Services, 1994-99, to undertake regional-local studies for purposes of informing the preparation of new plans. In this regard, 32 authorities were involved in or have adopted regional waste management strategy studies, or are otherwise committed to the making of regional waste management plans.
I am satisfied, therefore, that the approach outlined in Changing our Ways is largely being put into effect by local authorities and will result in a viable and efficient framework for the development of an integrated waste management infrastructure.
