Vol. 572 No. 5
54 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if he will make a statement on the implementation of those areas of the national development plan for which his Department has responsibility; and if his attention has been drawn to the serious concerns expressed by bodies such as the Institution of Engineers and the CIF regarding delays in the implementation of infrastructure projects under the plan. [23598/03]
I refer to the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 119 of 17 June 2003.
Progress in the implementation of the main infrastructure programmes under the national development plan for which my Department has responsibility has continued to be satisfactory through the first half of 2003. In the case of non-national roads, progress is well ahead of the midterm target of the national development plan. Completion figures for housing have generally increased for the first six months of this year in comparison with the same period last year. In August 2003, I launched the latest three year investment programme for water services which contains over 700 water and sewerage schemes at various stages of development and will contribute significantly to bring our water services infrastructure up to a world standard.
I share the concerns expressed about the shortage of waste infrastructure and the impact that this can have on competitiveness and economic growth. Progress has been made in implementing plans to speed up the delivery of this infrastructure. For example, close to 500,000 households – about one third of those in the State – now have a segregated collection service for recyclables and the on-going rollout of this service continues apace. I am confident that the delivery of waste infrastructure will accelerate, assisted by a major waste awareness and communications campaign recently launched.
I am aware of the interest of bodies such as the Institute of Engineers and the CIF in timely and effective implementation of national development plan infrastructure programmes. I am satisfied that good progress is being made on a number of measures, while recognising that increased effort is needed to advance programmes in other areas. The mid-term review of the national development plan is nearing finalisation and I look forward to its recommendations for the delivery of the plan going forward.
