asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the Brundtland report entitled Our Common Future, regarding its message concerning air pollution and the dangers of irreversible acidification, the remedial cost of which could be beyond economic reach; if he will outline the Government's actions and attitudes to this area of ecological concern in the light of this and other reports; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Brundtland Report.
80.
The Brundtland report was presented on 5 May 1987, to a Joint EC/EFTA meeting in Brussels. Ireland welcomed the report for its wide ranging analysis and in particular for its emphasis of the theme of sustainable development.
One of the problems considered in the report is the acidification caused by long range transport of air pollutants. The recent report on Air Quality in Ireland published by An Foras Forbartha concluded that there is little evidence to date in Ireland of marked environmental damage from acidification. However, the report does refer to limited episodes of high acid deposition along the eastern seaboard of Ireland associated with easterly wind conditions, and continued vigilance is therefore necessary.
Effective countermeasures to acidification depend on national and international controls. As regards national measures, the recently enacted Air Pollution Act, 1987 (No. 6 of 1987) provides the necessary legislative framework. As regards international measures, Ireland is participating in the 1979 Geneva Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution and in the EC Environment Action Programme both of which aim to limit, and where possible, to reduce the transboundary effects of air pollution.