Vol. 560 No. 3
172 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on the recent call made by An Taisce for the appointment of an independent environmental ombudsman; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2381/03]
I am aware of the report and recommendation referred to. Improving implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation is one of my key concerns. A number of initiatives are already under way to this end. For example, a packaging enforcement network has been established comprising representatives of local authority enforcement officers to enforce obligations of producers of packaging waste under the 1997 packaging regulations; at the request of my Department, local authorities have submitted proposals, to which I will respond shortly, for additional enforcement measures in relation to waste management, with funding from the environment fund; my Department has written to local authorities promoting more structured and effective approaches to the carrying out of environmental inspections; and the EPA is developing an environmental management system to help oversee local authority environmental performance generally.
In addition, the recently published Protection of the Environment Bill 2003 includes a range of strengthened provisions in relation to implementation and enforcement.
An Agreed Programme for Government provides for the establishment of an office of environmental enforcement to secure further improvements in this area. Work is under way on the development of detailed proposals in this regard, and will be completed as soon as possible.
