Vol. 572 No. 5
24 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the concerns expressed by the Construction Industry Federation that the country is facing a crisis of epic proportions in regard to waste disposal; the steps being taken to address this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23611/03]
I am aware of the concerns expressed by the Construction Industry Federation and others regarding delays being encountered in the provision of necessary waste recovery and disposal infrastructure. In this regard, the national development plan, NDP, sets for the first time on a national basis an ambitious investment target for the provision of infrastructure to meet anticipated recovery and disposal requirements across all waste streams, including construction and demolition waste, as proposed in the local authority regional waste management plans. Under the NDP it was intended that, of the €825 million to be invested, €571 million would be secured through public private partnerships.
While delays were experienced in completing the waste management planning process, the focus has firmly moved on to plan implementation. Since November 2002, I have allocated €22 million from the environment fund towards the provision of more than 70 local authority recycling projects. I intend to announce further allocations as projects are developed. In addition, several local authorities are actively developing public private partnership contracts for the provision of key large-scale waste management facilities. Having regard to the recent progress achieved in the implementation of the regional waste management plans, I am confident that further significant progress towards realising the investment targets set in the NDP will be achieved over the next few years.
The National Construction and Demolition Waste Council, NCDWC, was established in 2002 on foot of a recommendation contained in the report of the Forum for the Construction Industry with regard to the recycling of construction and demolition waste, C&D. The council, which comprises relevant stakeholders in the construction industry, including the Construction Industry Federation, was given the objective of achieving specified C&D recycling targets set out in the 1998 policy statement, Changing Our Ways. In its first annual report published recently the council outlined details of a voluntary industry Initiative which invites all construction industry players to commit to specific actions aimed at increasing C&D recycling. This new initiative will take effect from 1 January next.
