John Gormley
Ceist:141 Mr. Gormley asked the Taoiseach if he will explain national accounting matrix including environmental accounts; and the role the CSO will play in establishing these accounts. [18291/99]
Written Answers. - Satellite Accounts.
Satellite accounts are a mechanism whereby the core national accounts are supplemented by additional accounts which do not disrupt the central system. The satellite accounts dealing with the environment are at an early stage of development and have not yet been formalised into an official system like "The European System of Accounts 1995". The aim of these satellite accounts is to show how economic developments by industry impact on the environment and on the economy as a whole in an objective, comprehensive and systematic way. In simplistic terms the idea is to place the amount of "badness" produced by industry and households in quantifiable physical terms alongside the amount of beneficial effects produced by these sectors in terms of employment given and value added created. The presentation of the environmental accounts in this way forms part of a system known internationally as NAMEA–National Accounting Matrix including Environmental Accounts.
A first set of satellite environmental accounts for Ireland has been compiled by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, on behalf of the Central Statistics Office, CSO. The research was funded by EUROSTAT, the statistical office of the European Union. The CSO plans to update these accounts on a regular basis.