Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 6 Oct 1998

Vol. 494 No. 4

Written Answers. - Envrionmental Policy.

John Gormley

Ceist:

115 Mr. Gormley asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her attention has been drawn to concerns that the ISO 14001 standard relating to environmental management systems, which is in force since June 1997, is actually less effective that the IS 310 standard which it replaced; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18357/98]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. Treacy)

I informed the Deputy on 28 April 1998 of the reason Ireland was required to withdraw IS 310. Implicit in IS 310 was a requirement that organisations must comply with all legal environmental regulations; under ISO 14001, there is an explicit commitment to comply with such regulations.

ISO standards are archieved through consensus which is not an easy thing to achieve, especially at an international level. However, each standard uses the same broad approach and has an in-built improvement imperative. This must be viewed in the context that there is no obligation on organisations to be certified to any of these standards. Certification to these systems is voluntary and is a demonstration of an organisation's commitment to integrate environmental considerations into all aspects of the management of its operations.