Vol. 463 No. 3
170 Mr. T. Kitt asked the Minister for the Environment if the Government will be drawing up a national plan of action which will, among other measures, ban this country's use of the most dangerous identified persistent organic pollutants, and seek to phase out the disposal of raw sewage and industrial waste in rivers and oceans in view of the Government's adoption of the UNEP Programme of Action on land based sources of marine pollution. [5965/96]
171 Mr. T. Kitt asked the Minister for the Environment if the Government will support the efforts of the UN Environment Programme to draw up a global, legally binding treaty to ban the most dangerous identified persistent organic pollutants at the upcoming meeting of the Commission on Sustainable Development in April and May 1996. [5966/96]
189 Miss Harney asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to support the efforts of the UN Environment Programme to draw up a global treaty to ban the most dangerous identified persistent organic pollutants. [6312/96]
190 Miss Harney asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends drawing up a national plan of action which would ban the use of the most dangerous identified persistent organic pollutants in view of the adoption of the UNEP Programme of Action on land-based sources of marine pollution; if he intends to phase out the disposal of raw sewage and industrial waste in rivers and oceans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6313/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 170, 171, 189 and 190 together.
The United Nations Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities, which was adopted in Washington in November 1995, is intended as a source of conceptual and practical guidance for national and-or regional authorities in devising and implementing action to preserve the marine environment. The implications for individual countries will vary, depending on the progress made by them in putting in place strategies to deal with pollution sources affecting the marine environment, including the extent of their participation in regional agreements which share the overall objectives of the global programme.
Ireland has a well developed legislative system to regulate effluent discharges and emissions containing dangerous substances through the operation of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts, 1977 and 1990, the Air Pollution Act, 1987 and the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992. These controls will be strengthened on the enactment of the Waste Management Bill, 1995, which will, inter alia, deal with the potential threat to the marine area posed by the collection, storage, movement and disposal of hazardous waste.
My Department has drawn up a national programme for implementation of the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive involving total investment of an estimated £1.3 billion up to the end of 2005. A significant proportion of this investment will be made in estuarine-coastal areas for the benefit of the marine environment. This approach is consistent with one of the key objectives of the Global Programme of Action.
