The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has denied he attempted to water down an EU landfill directive, soon to be enforced, and was backing off from a commitment to adopt more extensive waste prevention in Ireland.
In response to an accusation by the environmental group, VOICE, he said Ireland supported the proposal on the landfill directive. Its "ambitious targets would be met by Ireland" and he did not believe they conflicted with Fianna Fail policy. The Irish position meant that a directive, which was six years under discussion, was much nearer a resolution. "When passed it will considerably strengthen the position in relation to landfill throughout the EU," he said.
The primary targets proposed had not been weakened, while it was intended that Ireland would operate within the time scales. "Implementation of the directive's targets will contribute directly to the achievement of the Government's targets," he added.
