Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2013
406. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details on the finances that were made available to implement Local Agenda 21; where those finances came from; the results achieved with this finance; the legislation enacted to implement Local Agenda 21; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54095/13]
View answerThe Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund, which has been in operation in Ireland since 1997, promotes sustainable development at a local level by assisting small-scale, non-profit environmental projects. It helps to facilitate, at a local level, the achievement of the objectives of the Agenda 21 action plan on sustainable development. Projects are recommended for funding by local authorities following an open call for applications. Funds provided by my Department are matched by equivalent funding provided by the local authorities. This combined funding is, in many cases, supplemented by other funding sources, such as private sector funding, in order to maximise the potential of the partnership arrangements.
The Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund has been funded through the Environment Fund since 2003. Prior to that, it was funded through the Department’s Vote allocation. Income to the Environment Fund comes from levies on landfill and plastic shopping bags. Details of activities funded through the Fund are set out in the Environment Fund annual accounts which are available on my Department’s website, (www.environ.ie).
The Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund supports a wide variety of local, environmentally beneficial projects. In 2013, for example, 43% of funding went to Training, Education and Awareness Raising, 23% went to school/community gardens and allotments, 22% went to Development of Community Areas including Wildlife and Biodiversity, 6% went to composting and rainwater harvesting, 2% went to Repair, Reuse and Recycling, 2% to audit, survey and action planning and 2% to other environment related projects. A list of the successful funding applications for 2012 is available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/LocalAgenda21/EnvironmentalPartnershipFund/.
The following table sets out the total annual funding under the Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund, for each of the past 10 years, together with the total number of projects funded.
Local Agenda Environmental Partnership Fund
Projects Funded since 2004
|
Year |
No. of Projects Funded |
Total funding from Dept. € |
|
2013 |
669 |
400,000 |
|
2012 |
490 |
337,000 |
|
2011 |
517 |
383,750 |
|
2010 |
448 |
306,336 |
|
2009 |
408 |
311,404 |
|
2008 |
387 |
332,022 |
|
2007 |
350 |
300,000 |
|
2006 |
269 |
250,000 |
|
2005 |
246 |
250,450 |
|
2004 |
208 |
300,000 |
While there is no specific legislation for the purpose of implementing Local Agenda 21, the principle of sustainability is incorporated into legislation and policies across a broad range of areas. Our Sustainable Future, Ireland’s Framework for Sustainable Development, which was published in June 2012, sets out a whole-of-Government approach to sustainable development and aims to embed this principle in policy-making processes across Departments and Agencies.
