Vol. 536 No. 5
267 Ms Clune asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if following the publication of the OECD report on the Government's environmental performance he is now in a position to respond to the recommendations of the report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14667/01]
The report arising from the first OECD environmental performance review of Ireland, which was published in November 2000, evaluated Irish environmental performance against domestic policy objectives and international commitments. At the time of publication I welcomed the report both as an acknowledgement of progress in the development and implementation of environment policy and as an identification of areas where further action is required. I am committed to utilising the report in ongoing policy development and action. My Department is preparing a paper, for transmission to the OECD, which will set out initial orientations in response to the report, and COMHAR – the National Sustainable Development Partnership – has recently been invited to comment on the paper in draft. On finalisation the paper will be forwarded to the OECD and copies will be placed in the Oireachtas Library.
