Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 338: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount of moneys collected towards the environment fund in 2008, 2009, 2010 and to date in 2011; the distribution of this fund; the way same has been used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20706/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Details of income and expenditure from the Environment Fund for the years 2008 and 2009 are available in the Fund's audited Annual Accounts. These are available from the Oireachtas library and on my Department's website at http://www.environ.ie/en/Environment/Waste/EnvironmentFund/.

The 2010 and 2011 Annual Accounts will be published in due course after they have been audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. However, provisional figures (on an accruals basis) indicate that income of €60,384,370 was received in 2010 while cash receipts of €29,845,206 have been received for the period from 1 January 2011 to 30 June 2011.

The proceeds of the Environment Fund, which was established under the Waste Management (Amendment) Act 2001, can only be used for activities that are of benefit to the environment. 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 and 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; and 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 extended 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.