Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 June 2004
46 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the degree to which his Department is on target in respect of the various objectives set in the context of the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16568/04]
View answerProgress in the implementation of the infrastructure programmes under the national development plan for which my Department has responsibility continues to be satisfactory.
At the end of 2003, cumulative expenditure on water services was running at 98.6% of target and a total of 276 schemes had been completed. While short of the mid-term target in terms of the number of projects completed, some of the projects completed, such as the Ringsend wastewater treatment plant in Dublin, were large in terms of scale, their impact on the environment and their role in the achievement of the objectives of the national development plan. Arising from the mid-term review of the national development plan, work is currently underway in my Department to devise a broader range of indicators that will better reflect the progress being achieved at measure level. The water services investment programme 2004 to 2006, which I announced on 7 May, contains 869 water and sewerage schemes at various stages of development and underlines my continued commitment to water and wastewater infrastructure provision.
My Department is also reviewing the NDP programme complement for housing to take account of the recommendations of the mid-term review and the multi-annual funding envelopes. Cumulative expenditure to end-2003 on this measure to date is 10% ahead of target at just under €5.32 billion. Despite significant progress in terms of output it has not been possible to achieve some mid-term targets due to higher than anticipated construction costs. The Government's decision to introduce five year multi-annual capital investment programmes provides an important opportunity to ensure a structured basis for the planning and delivery of all social and affordable housing programmes.
Cumulative expenditure on the non-national roads measure, at almost €1.62 billion to the end of 2003, is 14.29% ahead of target. Output under this measure is also ahead of target, demonstrating that the objectives of this measure are being met. To the end of 2003, for instance, over 17,000 km of non-national roads were improved under this measure. This is 24% ahead of the mid-term target. This rate of improvement to the non-national road network will contribute to the measure's aim of supporting the economic and social development of the regions.
The rural water measure provides funding for investment in water treatment, disinfection and distribution equipment for group water schemes to ensure that they can provide an adequate supply of water within their catchment area which meets the requirements of the EU directive on drinking water quality. Cumulative expenditure to end 2003 on this measure, at €227.03 million, is at 66% of target. Over 200,000 people have benefited from new or improved rural water schemes and percentage compliance with the drinking water regulations, at 80.9%, exceeds the mid-term target of 75%.
Expenditure on the waste management measure is behind target with no expenditure having taken place in the first two years of the national development plan, due to the delays which took place in the adoption of waste management plans by local authorities. However, the rate of expenditure has increased significantly, reflecting major progress in delivering modern waste infrastructure facilities. In April, I announced the third tranche of grants for local authority recycling and recovery facilities, amounting to €25 million. This tranche of grants, together with the €22 million I have previously allocated, will represent considerable progress in the implementation of this measure.
Up to the end of 2003, a total of €50.196 million had been spent on the urban and village renewal measure, the aim of which is to provide financial support for a range of interventions to upgrade cities, towns and villages to make them more attractive places in which to live and work. The measure also seeks to encourage social and economic development and to facilitate and support the development of tourism and tourism-related activity. While expenditure is at roughly 60% of target, some 470 projects have been completed, representing 96% of the mid-term target.
Expenditure under the habitats protection and conservation measure has not reached the mid-term target and output under the measure has been behind target. Progress on the development of two visitor centres has been slower than anticipated. It is hoped, however, that both centres will be completed by the end of the NDP period. As a means of implementing the 1992 EU habitats directive, funding is provided for conservation purposes by way of the acquisition of designated lands and compensation to landowners who forego income as a result of designation. It is difficult to forecast the level of expenditure associated with these acquisition and compensation payments, so the relevance of specific targets is undermined. My Department is currently working on revised indicators that will better reflect the progress being made on this measure.
Revised indicators are also being considered for the heritage conservation measure where cumulative expenditure to end 2003 is at 65% of target. However the number of heritage sites improved during that period exceeds the mid-term target of 36 sites by one. In terms of visitor numbers, 2.4 million people visited heritage sites in 2003. This exceeded the mid-term target of 2.22 million visitors by 180,000 people.
I am satisfied that my Department is making good progress in meeting the targets associated with most of the measures under the national development plan which are being implemented by my Department. Where progress on some measures was slow at the outset, it is encouraging to note that, by 2003, expenditure was approaching target and the effect of this expenditure was being felt by way of increased outputs. Where output indicators are being revised in the context of the mid-term review of the national development plan, it is with a view to the revised indicators providing better quality information as to the achievement of objectives under the national development plan.
