Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 Oct 1998

Vol. 495 No. 1

Written Answers. - Waste Management.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

274 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the plans, if any, he has to exercise the powers afforded to him under sections 28 (2) and 28 (6) of the Waste Management Act, 1996, to initiate prosecutions for the offence of failure to take all reasonable steps as necessary for the purposes of waste prevention and minimisation on the part of persons carrying on an activity of an agricultural, commercial or industrial nature; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19111/98]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

Pending the making of regulations for the purpose of subsection 28(2)(b) of the Waste Management Act, 1996, the question of initiating prosecutions for a contravention of that subsection does not arise.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

275 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the mechanisms, if any, in place at his Department to give consideration to the waste reduction plans which local authorities are required to submit; the number of waste reduction plans received by his Department from the local authorities to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19112/98]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

Local authorities are required under Part II of the Waste Management Act, 1996, to submit to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government a copy of a proposed waste management plan and of any such plan which has been made.

To date, copies of waste management plans made by Waterford Corporation and Waterford County Council, and of proposed waste management plans in respect of the Dublin region and Counties Kerry and Wexford, have been received. These have been routinely reviewed by my Department.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

276 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the proposals, if any, he has to resource voluntary and community groups and non-governmental organisations to get involved in education, awareness and job creation as part of Local Agenda 21 programmes dealing with waste reduction and sustainable waste management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19113/98]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Dempsey)

The development of Local Agenda 21 programmes is a matter for individual local authorities. Guidelines issued to authorities by my Department in 1995 focused, among other things, on the development of information, consultative and participative arrangements in the community. In support of the Local Agenda 21 process generally my Department has also facilitated local authorities in setting up Local Agenda 21 officers networks.

General recommendations on public education, and public support and participation in waste management, were included in my recent policy statement on waste management.

Resourcing through the new local government fund from 1999 will provide additional scope for local authorities to address local environmental and other priorities.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

277 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government his views on the importance of waste reduction as achievable through waste prevention as an element in the strategy to deal with the waste management crisis, which has become a recognised part of the way in which our economy operates. [19114/98]

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment and Local Government (Mr. D. Wallace)

A priority objective for sustainable waste management is to reduce the production of waste to a minimum consistent with economic sustainability. This is reflected in the internationally recognised waste hierarchy, which gives primacy to prevention.

Government waste management policy is firmly grounded in this hierarchy of options.

The Waste Management Act, 1996 provides a comprehensive and flexible legislative framework, within which local authorities can define and given effect to progressive waste management policies. Under this Act, local authorities are required to make new, detailed, plans for the management of non-hazardous wastes within their functional areas, while EPA is required to make a national hazardous waste management plan. Reflecting the waste hierarchy, the statutory objective of these plans is to prevent and minimise the production of waste and its harmful effects, encourage and support the recovery of waste, ensure that such waste as cannot be prevented or recovered is safety disposed of, and address the need to give effect to the polluter pays principle, in relation to waste disposal.