Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 1779: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will grant the request of Comhar, the National Sustainable Development Council to be consulted directly on policy issues at the same level of input as NESC and NESDO; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43847/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Comhar — the Sustainable Development Council is a forum for national consultation and dialogue on all issues relating to sustainable development. The members of the Council are drawn from fiver pillars; the State sector, economic sectors, environmental NGOs, social/community NGO's and the professional/academic sector. Comhar has as its mandate to advance the national agenda for sustainable development, to evaluate progress in this regard, to assist in devising suitable mechanisms and advising on their implementation, and to contribute to the formation of a national consensus. In performing this role Comhar contributes to policy making on a broad range of matters either directly or on request from the Government.

By way of a recent example, Comhar was requested by the Minister for Finance to make a submission on the National Development Plan. The resulting submission was informed by Comhar's three day conference National Development Plan — towards sustainability held in October, 2006 which engaged academics, policy makers and a range of other stakeholders on the theme of sustainable development in prospect of the new NDP. The NDP moreover has now endorsed sustainability as one of its key cross-sectoral concerns.

The role of Comhar war also reaffirmed in Towards 2016. This explicitly commits to strengthening the role of Comhar in the ongoing process of policy development in the context of environmental sustainability.

Comhar will, over the coming months, be an important partner in the review of the National Sustainable Development Strategy being coordinated by my Department.