Vol. 436 No. 4
10 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for the Environment if his attention has been drawn to the formal complaint made by Greenpeace to the EC Commission regarding the failure of the authorities here to police environmental pollution; if he will give details of his response to the substance of the complaint; if he has received any communication from DG 11 of the European Commission regarding the complaint; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
24 Mr. Cox asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of recent comments by Greenpeace in The Irish Times of Monday, 15 November 1993, he has satisfied himself with the enforcement of anti-pollution regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 24 together.
I have no information about this reported complaint either from the European Commission or from Greenpeace. Information on enforcement of environmental legislation is published regularly by my Department in the Environment Bulletin and from time to time in response to parliamentary questions. While the pattern of activity varies according to the provisions involved, I am satisfied that, in comparative terms, enforcement of environmental legislation in Ireland is generally good.
A major purpose of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, is to improve the regulation of activities of major polluting potential by entrusting responsibility for their control to the new agency. The agency, which is being mobilised at present, will also support and supervise the performance of environmental protection functions by local authorities.
I am extremely surprised that the Minister's usually well informed Department has not read the many newspaper reports on the very comprehensive complaint made by Greenpeace to the European Commission about the litany of breaches of pollution regulations, the non-implementation of EC directives and regulations, the number of local authorities which have not yet made waste plans and, despite the usual rhetoric from the Minister on these matters, the general lack of enforcement of good environmental standards. When will we see sight of the waste management Bill? Will we see this Bill, which has been promised so often in this House, before the Minister proceeds to built a toxic waste incinerator, before the Kill dump is opened or before any of the other decisions on waste management are taken? When will the Government put forward a national waste plan?
I reject Deputy Gilmore's contention that Ireland is in some way deficient in either its capacity or determination to transpose Community directives and regulations into Irish law and implement their provisions. I refer the Deputy to some published documents in this regard as distinct from the hit-and-run expeditions, to which I am very used, by Greenpeace in circumstances——
I do not know about that.
——where I am not even shown the courtesy of being sent a copy of the letter. I have no knowledge about this reported complaint. I refer the Deputy to published data on the 7,500 investigations of water pollution which have been carried out in Ireland, the 1,000 warnings and notices issued and the 1,000 people with various technical skills employed indirectly by the State — for example, by local authorities, health boards and fishery boards — on a full-time basis to implement environmental policy. I looked at the record of other countries in this regard. Up to 90 per cent of EC directives in this area have been written into Irish law. Only one or two other countries have a better record than Ireland in this regard.
It is time we tried to rise above our defeatist inferiority complex. The many people employed in this area are doing good work. Of course, we can improve our efforts. However, one should look at the published data before one refers to the isolated incidents which regrettably occur. I would like to be able to eliminate the possibility of such incidents, and if the Deputy was on this side of the House he would also like to do this. However, he will have to live with some problems for a little longer.
Deputy Gilmore rose.
That concludes the time for dealing with Priority Questions.
I should like answers to the questions I asked.
We must move on to other questions.
The Minister should give answers to the questions raised.
The Minister knows that we do not even penalise the systematic breaches of the law.
The Minister without interruption, please.
People do not dream up pollution problems.
Will the Deputies please desist?
Did the Minister hear about the factories which went on fire during the summer?
Question No. 11, please.
Those incidents were followed up. With regard to being out of touch, I would remind the Deputy that I am in Government and he is on the Opposition benches.
