Vol. 426 No. 5
167 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for the Environment if sufficient funds will be made available to local authorities for capital works in 1993 to enable those bodies comply with environmental protection regulations with particular reference to the elimination of pollution; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Environmental protection, including pollution prevention and control, is a shared responsibility involving central and local government, industrial, commercial and agricultural interests, as well as non-governmental representative interests and the public generally.
Local authorities have the duty both of regulating activities impinging on the environment and providing environmental services. In the latter capacity, the greatest requirement for capital investment arises under the Water and Sanitary Services Programme for which, in 1993, some £79 million has been provided in the Estimates just published. A significant amount of this will be dedicated to pollution prevention and control purposes.
