Written Answers. - EU Directives.
Olwyn Enright
Question:
699
Ms Enright
asked the
Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government
the actions his Department is taking under Article 14 of the Water Framework Directive to encourage active involvement of stakeholders at both the national and river base district level; and the breakdown of the financial resources allocated to these initiatives.
[15163/03]
I refer to the reply to Question No. 444 of 18 February 2003.
My Department is encouraging and facilitating the active involvement of all interested parties in the implementation of the Water Framework Directive, WFD, including public authorities, agricultural, commercial, industrial, recreational and community interests, environmental organisations and interested persons. A broad range of activities is required for this purpose and numerous actions are being pursued by my Department and other agencies at national, regional and local levels.
At national level, information and consultation seminars on the WFD organised jointly by my Department and the Institute of Public Admin istration were held in Kilkenny on 8 November 2001 and Tullamore on 4 December 2001. The seminars informed delegates of the arrangements being developed for implementation of the WFD and provided an opportunity for commenting on those arrangements and water management generally. The Kilkenny seminar mainly served public authorities such as local and regional authorities. The Tullamore seminar was aimed at a broader stakeholder audience and included participation by NGOs.
A website, www.wfdireland.ie, has been developed by my Department to facilitate public access to information on the implementation of the directive and measures are being taken to promote and facilitate participation by all interested persons. A North-South consultation paper, "Managing Our Shared Waters", was issued on 18 March 2003 jointly by the Department of the Environment in the North and the Department of the Environment and Local Government in the South. The paper deals primarily with the designation of international RBDs and administrative arrangements for implementation of the WFD. A copy of the consultation paper, "Managing Our Shared Waters", is available on the website. The responses received are now being considered.
The Heritage Council, now under the aegis of my Department, produced a consultative document in March 2003, "Seeking your Views on Water Quality", the purpose of which was to increase public participation in water management issues generally and in particular the WFD. This document was distributed to a wide range of interested parties. While the document is intended to stimulate response, it also seeks to pass on information on water quality and management issues, as well as information on the WFD. Responses are currently being considered and all responders will be invited to attend a discussion seminar later this year.
The implementation of the directive is being promoted and co-ordinated at national level by a co-ordination group of officials of Departments and other authorities involved in water management. A working group on public participation has been established to promote a harmonious and consistent approach nationally for encouraging public participation in the implementation of the WFD, particularly in the context of the river basin management projects, RBMPs, and to develop a common strategy and guidelines. The working group recently met with representatives of environmental NGOs.
In addition to specific measures being taken in the context of the WFD, the effective participation of interested parties will be facilitated by the range of structures put in place, with necessary support, under the local government reform programme which have facilitated a greater input by community and local sectoral interests, including the social partners, into public service policy development at local level.
At regional level, my Department is promoting and funding the establishment by local authorities of inter-authority projects to develop river basin monitoring and management systems and to provide the bulk of the baseline data required for implementation of the directive and for development of river basin management plans. Two such projects have already commenced, in relation to the following regions: south eastern region, Barrow, Nore, Suir, Slaney river basins and others – approved March 2002, operational since September 2002; Shannon River Basin – approved November 2002, operational since January 2003.
Approval of funding has issued in relation to a river basin management project for the eastern region, Avoca-Vartry, Boyne, Nanny, Dartry, Dodder and Liffey, and this project will commence shortly. A project has been approved in principle for the establishment of a river basin management project in relation to the western region, Lough Arrow, Carrowmore, Conn, Corrib, Mask and Rivers Bonet, Clare, Robe, Moy, and Owenmore river basins and others. A proposal for the establishment of a river basin management project for the south west region, which will include County Kerry, has been put forward by Cork County Council and is being examined by my Department.
Central to these projects is a requirement for the development and implementation of a full programme of activity for public information and consultation. A regional seminar on public participation was held on 5 November 2002 in Kilkenny and marked the start of a process to facilitate and support stakeholder involvement in the implementation of the south eastern river basin management project, SERBMP. A workshop on public participation in the SERBMP will be held in Kilkenny on 14 June 2003. The Shannon RBMP and the SERBMP are both developing websites – www.shannonrbd.com and www.serbd.com – that will provide for the dissemination of information to the public at regional level and will have links to the other regional project websites as they come on-line as well as to the national WFD website.
To date the following funding has been provided by my Department in relation to the WFD and public participation:–
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Amount of Funding
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Purpose
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€461.81
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Contribution to assist in the expense of attendance by a representative from Voice (Voice of concern for the Irish Environment) at World Wildlife Conference workshop that had relevance to Article 14 of the WFD
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€2,500
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Contribution in support of VOICE leading an NGO conference on wider participation in the implementing of the WFD
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€7,500
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Contribution to VOICE towards the establishment of a system for continued NGO input to the WFD.
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€5,000
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Contribution to VOICE towards a series of workshops to address the issues raised in the implementation of the WFD.
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€4,500
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Contribution to BirdWatch Ireland towards a Seminar on the role of wetlands and nature conservation in River Basin Management Planning in the Shannon Catchment.
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