Vol. 401 No. 4
40 Mr. Kavanagh asked the Minister for the Environment the action he proposes to take following the failure of Ireland's EC Presidency to agree the Habitat Directive, to ensure that the EC Commission and the Italian Presidency complete the necessary documentation to enable this important Directive to be agreed by the Council of Environment Ministers in December, 1990; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ireland strongly supports the aim of the proposed Directive on Habitats, which is the conservation of habitats and species of European significance and the advancement of the draft Directive was included in the work programme of my Presidency. However, despite consistent pressure on the Commission to have this and other proposals of particular interest to the Irish Presidency expedited, especially a proposal for funding habitat protection which the Commission had promised, the proposal in its completed form did not emerge from the Commission in time to enable either the European Parliament or the Council to have a substantive discussion on the matter. The dossier therefore passes to the Italian Presidency.
The Deputy may rest assured that Ireland is anxious to have this proposal advanced as quickly as possible and will adopt a supportive attitude in negotiations on the matter. In the final analysis, however, it is the Italian Presidency which will have primary responsibility for ordering the agenda of Council meetings during the remainder of 1990.
