Vol. 442 No. 3
35 Mr. O'Malley asked the Minister for the Environment if his Department has concluded consultations with the Department of Education about enhancing the environmental awareness dimen-sion in the formal education of our young people; and if so, the steps, if any, that are being taken to bring this about.
Wexford): Environmental information and awareness has been a constant theme of Irish environment policy and many of the activities involved are directed at, or extend to, young people and the educational system. ENFO, the environmental information service operated by my Department, is now a focus for much of this activity and provides many facilities and support systems, including information packs specially designed for schools, to both students and teachers.
My Department maintains close contact with the Department of Education, through ENFO and otherwise in relation to the integration of environmental considerations with the educational process. An interdepartmental working group on environmental awareness, which operated under the auspices of the Department of Education, has completed its work and the Minister for Education will shortly make a statement on the matter. Its follow up is now being addressed by the Minister for Education, inter alia, in the context of the forthcoming White Paper on Education.
Both my Department and the Department of Education are participating in work under European Commission auspices on environmental education. A report will result from this work by end of 1994.
