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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 8 May 2003

Vol. 566 No. 2

Written Answers. - Environmental Policy.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

196 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason that Ireland has yet to reach the level of sustainable development agreed in the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the way in which Ireland will meet the agreements made at the Johannesburg Summit 2002. [12514/03]

Agenda 21, an action programme for sustainable development, was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Sustainable Development: A Strategy for Ireland, reflects and takes forward in the Irish context the programme towards sustainable development set out at Rio. Since being endorsed by Government in 1997, the strategy has had a significant influence on environment policy and on the environmental dimension of sectoral policies.

As regards matters for which my Department has responsibility, significant progress has been made since 1992 towards good environmental management, within the framework of national sustainable development policy, including: putting in place a modern legislative framework for environmental protection; implementing an integrated pollution control licensing system in advance of EU integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) requirements; establishing river basin management projects to promote a comprehensive approach to the management of all waters and water-dependent ecosystems in the context of implementing the EU Water Framework Directive; providing record investment for water services to meet development needs, tackle water quality problems and upgrade rural water supplies; establishing a clear policy direction for waste management in Changing Our Ways (1998) and Preventing and Recycling Waste: Delivering Change (2002) – these recognise the need for a dramatic reduction in reliance on landfill, in favour of an integrated waste management policy which delivers ambitious waste recycling-recovery targets and brings waste management infrastructure up to modern standards; including sustainable development in the Planning and Development Act 2000 as a yardstick against which development proposals are to be evaluated; establishing Comhar to advance sustainable development on the basis of dialogue and partnership; adopting a national climate change strategy in 2000, setting out clearly the actions to be implemented to ensure that Ireland meets its target under the Kyoto Protocol – many of the measures are already being implemented; banning leaded petrol, extending the ban on smoky coal to further areas, and increasing substantially the levels of investment in public transport; publishing revised guidelines on Local Agenda 21, Towards Sustainable Local Communities, in 2001 to help give new impetus towards sustainable development at community level; adopting a national biodiversity plan and a national heritage plan in 2002, and implementing a major campaign to promote greater public awareness of environmental issues.
In 2000, Ireland's overall performance was benchmarked against best international practice in the OECD environmental performance review: Ireland, and the EPA published its millennium state of the environment report. Both reports acknowledged that the overall quality of Ireland's environment remains good while noting that the nature and pace of economic growth, and associated consumption patterns, were placing growing pressures on the environment, requiring policy to focus on five main challenges: better management of waste; reducing eutrophication in inland waters – consolidating and extending gains already made; protecting natural resources; controlling greenhouse gas emissions; and protecting the urban environment particularly from transport-related pressures. Making Ireland's Development Sustainable, published by my Department in 2002, gives more details on the progress made, the positive environmental impacts achieved as a result and areas where further progress is required.
The renewed emphasis on the standing agenda from Rio agreed at the Johannesburg Summit in 2002 will have an important influence on the delivery of our policy priorities towards more sustainable patterns of development.
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