Vol. 415 No. 8
314 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for the Environment if he will outline (a) his plans to eliminate the discharge of raw sewage into waterways, lakes and the sea over the next ten years and (b) the proposed expenditure involved; if he has requested all local authorities to submit necessary schemes to deal with such proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The environment action programme stated the Government's commitment to eliminating discharges of untreated sewage from major cities and towns to coastal and inland waterways. The programme set out the Government's objectives and strategy for sewage disposal to the year 2000 and indicated a requirement of £630 million over this period.
EC support for this programme is being received from a number of funds, and two relevant operational programmes have been approved by the EC Commission. EC requirements relating to sewage treatment have been prescribed in a recently adopted Directive on urban waste water treatment.
Planning of the necessary schemes to meet these various programme requirements is being actively advanced by my Department with the local authorities concerned.
