Pat Upton
Ceist:19 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for the Environment the amount of money spent on research on environmental protection; and the way in which this compares with the expenditure of other OECD countries in this area of research.
Written Answers. - Environmental Protection Research.
Wexford): Details of public expenditure on R and D generally, including environmental R and D, are officially notified by Forfás to the OECD on an annual basis. These official figures for total environmental R and D in recent years were:
|
£million |
|
|
1991 |
1.6 |
|
1992 |
1.8 |
|
1993 |
1.8 |
Latest OECD figures (which are for 1991) show a range varying from 0.5 per cent to 4.1 per cent for environmental R and D as a percentage of total public R and D budgets. The relevant percentage for Ireland stands at 1.3 per cent.
There is reason to believe that the official figures notified by Forfás may considerably underestimate total public expenditure on environmental research in Ireland. They also exclude substantial expenditure in this area by the private sector and by third level institutions.
The Environmental Protection Agency, as part of its statutory role of coordinating and promoting environmental research, is at present surveying the entire area with a view,inter alia, to establishing a comprehensive profile and data base.