Avril Doyle
Question:4 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment the measures, if any, he has taken to ensure that the cohesion fund will not be used to finance environmentally destructive projects.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - EC Funded Projects.
Helen Keogh
Question:11 Ms. Keogh asked the Minister for the Environment the additional measures, if any, he proposes to take to ensure that the impact of projects financed through the next round of Structural Funds and the Cohesion Funds are environmentally benign; and if this will involve an official monitoring role for environmental non-governmental organisations.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 11 together.
Projects funded from Structural Funds are already subject to a range of statutory environmental requirements, including, as appropriate, environmental impact assessment and licensing controls.
A number of amendments to the Structural Funds regulations have been proposed by the EC Commission and are under consideration by the General Affairs Council. These include proposals to require regional development plans— the National Development Plan in Ireland's case — to include an assessment of the environmental situation of the region and its expected development with regard to the strategy and operations envisaged in the plan. It is also proposed that plans should include arrangements to associate relevant environmental authorities with the preparation and implementation of operations envisaged in the plan. While the revised regulations have not yet been adopted, appropriate arrangements, including arrangements for monitoring having regard to these proposals, are being considered in the context of the preparation of the National Development Plan.
A substantial proportion of the Irish submission for Cohesion Fund assistance in 1993 relates to projects directly suportive of Community and national environment policy. Both these and the transport projects submitted have been carefully selected with regard to the environmental and other criteria of the fund and have been subject to intensive assessment, including environmental impact assessment, as appropriate. I am satisfied that they will make a very positive contribution to improving and protecting the quality of our environment.
May I ask why environmental impact assessments were not made an essential requirement for projects seeking funding under the Cohesion Fund? The recently revised regulations for the Structural Funds introduced the concept of environmental profiles. Even if environmental impact assessments were not made a requirement for projects seeking funding under the Cohesion Fund, environmental profiles should have been made a requirement at the very least.
The establishment of the Cohesion Fund was a major development in the context of the environment— it is directed primarily at the protection of the environment. With regard to the Irish submission, all the projects are individual projects, the great majority of which have already been subjected to an environmental impact assessment.
Not all of them.
I am satisfied that we are meeting the highest standards in all cases in so far as care for our natural environment is concerned. The greater part of the Cohesion Fund for 1993 is devoted exclusively to meeting the requirements of the waste water directive and drinking water directive, which we have transposed into Irish law. The House can be assured that there will be no let up in ensuring that we meet the highest possible environmental criteria and standards under that fund.
Why not make environmental impact assessments mandatory if there is no problem?
Can we have a reply to Question No. 5? The time available to us is now almost exhausted.