Vol. 447 No. 1
168 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment whether he invited local authorities to submit programmes to implement Local Agenda 21, the plan for sustainable development at local level, in view of the fact that the Government was a signatory to Agenda 21; if not, the initiatives, if any, he intends to take to meet the 1996 deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3037/94]
A plain language version of Agenda 21 was circulated by ENFO — my Department's environmental information service — to all sections of the community, including local authorities, in October 1993.
While overall implementation of Agenda 21 is seen by the United Nations as the responsibility of national governments, the actions associated with the preparation of a local Agenda 21 are primarily for individual local authorities. It is open to such authorities to decide how best to pursue the preparation of a local Agenda 21 and it would be contrary to its participative emphasis to pre-empt their initiatives in this regard. However, I will be facilitating a consistent approach, subject to local initiatives, through the issuing of appropriate advice and guidelines in the coming months.
