Vol. 436 No. 5
139 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment the funding, if any, he is making available to establish a sustainability fund, as proposed by URGE, of £50 million over the period of the National Development Plan, 1994-1999 to stimulate a greater appreciation of the commercial advantages of environmentally innovative products and clean technologies.
Wexford): The proposals by URGE to establish a sustainability fund were submitted to, and examined by, a number of Ministers in the context of the preparation of the National Development Plan. It is intended that the Operational Programme for Environmental Services will include a limited sub-programme, within a total investment of £655 million over the period 1994-99, to develop greater R and D capacity in relation to environmental protection and sustainable development. However, the overall objective of the National Development Plan of enhancing economic performance through sustainable growth and development requires that appropriate action to achieve sustainability should in general be taken within, not separately from, the relevant economic sectoral development areas.
