Vol. 477 No. 5
13 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment the level at which his Department was represented at the conference organised by the European Commission in May 1996 on the then proposed draft directive on water, subsequently published in February 1997. [9742/97]
30 Mr. S. Brennan asked the Minister for the Environment if he will publish all correspondence and memos exchanged between himself and his Department and the EU in relation to the draft EU directive on water published in February 1997. [9743/97]
38 Mr. B. Ahern asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give details of his role as President of the EU Council of Environment Ministers in the preparation of the European Commission's draft directive on water published in February 1997. [9741/97]
165 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for the Environment if the issue of charging consumers for water was discussed at any stage when he chaired the Environment Council under the Ireland's Presidency of the EU during the second half of 1996; and the input, if any, he has had regarding any related EU Directive on water charges. [9764/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 13, 30, 38 and 165 together.
My Department was represented by an assistant principal officer at the consultative seminar organised by the European Commission in May 1996 at a preparatory stage of this draft directive's elaboration. There was, at that stage, no proposal in relation to water charges. This proposal first emerged in an internal draft document — not approved by the Commission — which was circulated informally by the Commission Services in December 1996.
While preparation of the draft directive continued within the Commission Services during the Irish Presidency, the proposal was not adopted by the Commission until 25 February 1997; the Irish Presidency, therefore, had no role in relation to it.
Since its adoption by the Commission in February, there has been no correspondence with the Commission on the subject of the draft directive. The matter was, however, on the agenda for the Environment Council on 3 March for presentation by the Commission. While substantive consideration by the Environment Council of the relevant sections of the draft directive has not yet commenced, the Commission has been made fully aware of the Irish position on the matter. I am arranging to have a full statement of all contacts with the Commission on this issue placed in the Oireachtas Library.
