Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 465: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the amount of money collected to date from the landfill levy; the intended use of the moneys; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36349/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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In the period from its introduction on 17 July 2001 until the end of 2008, a total of €198,415,515 was paid into the Environment Fund in respect of the landfill levy.

Details of monies received into the Environment Fund and also expenditure from the Fund are available in the published Environment Fund Annual Accounts. Copies up to and including 2008 are available from the Oireachtas library and

are also available at the following link on the Department's website: http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Waste/Environment Fund/

The 2009 Annual Accounts will be published in due course after they have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Section 74(9) of the Waste Management Act 1996 (as inserted by section 12 of the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001), specifies the purposes for which payments may be made from the Environment Fund. These include assistance in a range of areas such as:

· schemes to prevent/reduce waste ;

· waste recovery activities ;

· research & development into waste management ;

· production, distribution or sale of products deemed to be less harmful to the environment than other similar products ;

· development of producer initiatives to prevent/reduce waste arising from their activities ;

· implementation of waste management plans ;

· enforcement of the provisions of any enactment relating to waste management, prevention of litter or protection of the environment ;

· partnership projects, that involve local authorities, to improve the quality of the environment for particular local communities ;

· promotion of awareness of the need to protect the environment, including national and regional campaigns ;

· promotion /support of education and training to assist achievement of campaign objectives ;

· resources (human or material) to enable education and training to be carried out ;

· initiatives undertaken by community groups and others for protection of the environment ;

· such other purposes for protection of the environment as may be prescribed by the Minister in regulations.

The Waste Management (Environment Fund)(Prescribed Payments) Regulations 2003 extend these purposes to include -

· initiatives undertaken in the State, or on an international or trans-national basis relating to the protection of the environment; and

· sustainable development initiatives, including areas such as research and development together with contributions to international organisations.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 466: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the operators of the landfill at a location (details supplied) in County Kildare paid the landfill levies required; if not, the amount outstanding and the efforts being made to collect same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36350/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 466 and 468 together.

Revenues from the levies on plastic shopping bags and the landfill of waste are paid into a 'ring-fenced' Environment Fund, established under the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001, and can only be used for activities that are of benefit to the environment. The purposes for which the Fund may be used are set out in section 74(9) of the Waste Management Act 1996 (as inserted by section 12 of the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001) and the Waste Management (Environment Fund)(Prescribed Payments) Regulations 2003.

To date no moneys have been received by my Department in respect of landfill levies from the facility in question.

As I understand that there are legal proceedings ongoing in this case, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on the matters involved at this time. End of Take

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 467: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to introduce legislation to cover the control and remediation of abandoned or orphaned landfill sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36351/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The operation of a landfill is subject to the requirement to obtain a waste licence from the Environmental Protection Agency under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2010. The existing waste legislation contains a number of provisions, including the use of legal remedies, to ensure that landfill sites do not damage the environment. I have no plans to change the existing legislation in this regard.

The European Communities (Environmental Liability) Regulations 2008, which came into operation on 1 April 2009, transpose the EU Environmental Liability Directive into Irish law and provide a framework for the imposition of liability on those who cause environmental damage. It is my position that those responsible for environmental damage should be held fully financially responsible for the damage caused, and I believe that the appropriate legislation has been provided.