Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 490: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he is taking to measure and combat the pollution of the Irish Sea by phthalate toxins; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23347/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Statutory responsibility for the monitoring and management of water quality lies primarily with local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency and, regarding marine waters, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Marine Institute.

Phthalates comprise a group of substances which are widely used in the plastics industry and which are of concern due to their potential endocrine-disrupting effects. The Environmental Protection Agency funded a survey in 2003 by Cork Institute of Technology on the occurrence of endocrine-disrupting substances in the Irish aquatic environment. The analysis of the results was recently concluded and the results do not reveal any intersex, that is, the simultaneous presence of male and female tissue, in any of the waterbodies surveyed. The report of this survey will be available within a few weeks.

A comprehensive screening programme began in March 2005 with the aim of establishing the relevance of more than 200 dangerous substances, including phthalates, in the context of Irish waters. The programme, which is led by Carlow County Council on behalf of all local authorities, is co-ordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency and funded by my Department. The output from the programme will be a major factor in determining whether further measures will need to be taken to protect our waters from pollution from phthalates. Regard will also be had to the results of reviews being carried out in relevant international fora.