Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 173: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the underspend on waste management for each year since 2000 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16427/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The waste management investment foreseen in the National Development Plan 2000-2006 was based on the situation which obtained in 1999, when the plan was formulated. Since then, rapid change has occurred in the delivery of waste management services. In particular, a significant and vibrant private waste industry has rapidly formed and has begun to invest in waste infrastructure in a manner, and to a degree, not anticipated. This has permitted the public sector investment to be both reduced and targeted at key deliverables in the areas of provision of recycling infrastructure and enforcement of waste management legislation. Some €50 million from the environment fund has been allocated in this way since 2002 resulting in a doubling of the number of bring banks and civic amenity sites to 1,800 and 60, respectively.

In consequence, the prospective NDP investment of €825 million over the period to end 2006 was not drawn upon until 2002. In that year and in 2003 and 2004 the annual spend was €1.644 million, €8.212 million and €19.139 million, respectively. While further increases in expenditure can be anticipated, including in regard to the procurement of elements of heavy waste infrastructure by means of public private partnerships, it is inevitable that this will extend beyond the current NDP period and will need to be considered in the context of successor arrangements.