Vol. 508 No. 3
277 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has examined the European Commission proposals for a directive on national emission ceilings; if these proposals have been discussed by the EU Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18835/99]
279 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if Ireland will be a signatory to the UN ECE Protocol on national emission ceilings scheduled for Gothenburg, Sweden, on 30 November and 1 December 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18837/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 277 and 279 together.
Ireland has participated in the negotiations on a draft UN ECE Protocol to the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-Level Ozone. The draft protocol will be opened for adoption and signing at a ministerial conference at Gothenburg, Sweden, on 30 November – 1 December 1999. I anticipate that Ireland will be a signatory to the protocol.
On 9 June 1999 the European Commission presented proposals for an EU directive on national emission ceilings for the same four atmospheric pollutants covered in the draft UN ECE Protocol, i.e. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and ammonia. The proposals, which are under examination in my Department in consultation with the interested Government Departments, will be the subject of a policy debate at the European Council of Environment Ministers on 12 October 1999. I will be participating in this debate.
