Vol. 401 No. 6
157 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment the steps which were taken during the Irish Presidency of the EC to agree an EC directive to reduce pollution from agricultural sources; and if any preliminary work has been undertaken to identify vulnerable zones in Ireland in which preventive measures could be taken.
I presented a compromise proposal shortly after the commencement of the Irish Presidency of the European Community for the purpose of protecting fresh, coastal and marine waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources. I took this initiative in an effort to resolve fundamental problems for a number of member states arising from the original Commission proposal, which had prevented agreement on the matter during the terms of the two preceding Presidencies.
My proposal was considered in detail at a number of meetings at expert level and at the March and June meetings of the Council of Environment Ministers. Progress was made on the proposal, but this was insufficient to resolve all outstanding problems of member states.
The extent of any "vulnerable zones" to be designated in Ireland under the Directive, when adopted, will depend on the criteria to be applied for the identification of such zones.
