Written Answers. - Irish Sea Water Quality.
Noel Dempsey
Ceist:
446
Mr. Dempsey
asked the
Minister for the Marine
the progress, if any, made to date and the expected date of completion of the joint survey being carried out on water quality in the Irish Sea by British and Irish scientists; if he will give separate details of the scientific resources on both the Irish and British sides in terms of the personnel and budget which are being committed to this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[22086/96]
Preparations are under way for the completion of an environmental quality status report (QSR) for the entire area covered by the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) to which Ireland is a party. The information gathered in this report will allow for assessment of the environment of the area, including water quality, and will provide a firm basis for future monitoring and management of the maritime area covered by the North-East Atlantic covered by the OSPAR Convention. For the purpose of the report the Convention area has been divided into five sub-regions.
Ireland and the United Kingdom are required to prepare the report in respect of that part of the North-East Atlantic region (Celtic Seas) extending westwards of the UK mainland to the edge of the continental shelf (200m depth). The area includes all of Ireland's marine and coastal areas.
The report will comprise of: (i) a compilation of existing knowledge (physics, chemistry, biology, human activities) of the area; (ii) an assessment of this information in relation to agreed criteria of environmental quality; and (iii) a statement of the prevailing condition of the area.
In conjunction with similar reports on the four other parts of the OSPAR region, the Celtic Seas QSR will be assimilated into a Convention-wide QSR that will be published in the year 2000. It is expected that the draft of the report in respect of the Irish/UK region will be completed early in 1988.
Ireland is working in close conjunction with the UK in completing the Celtic Seas report. However, much of the initial work in sourcing, compiling and reviewing information is being carried out independently by Irish and UK scientists. I cannot comment on the UK budget in that regard. It is a matter for the UK Government to put in place appropriate structures and arrangements to provide the input to complete the report as required by OSPAR.
The Irish contribution to the QSR is being managed by the Marine Institute on behalf of the Departments of the Environment and of the Marine. The institute has established a QSR Office at the Forbairt Laboratory in Shannon, County Clare, staffed by a team of four marine scientists. The team is lead by Mr. Rick Boelens, a recognised international expert in marine environmental science, who has been seconded to the Institute for this 2-year project. The cost of the Irish contribution to the report is expected to be in the region of £300,000 — the cost to be divided between the Department of the Marine and the Department of the Environment.
