FIANNA Fail aims to introduce a "binding plan for sustainable development" from which no sector of the economy will have the right to opt out, according to the party's leader, Mr Bertie Ahern.
Speaking at a meeting to mark the publication of a comprehensive Fianna Fail policy document entitled Our Environment - Our Future, Mr Ahern said this plan would be worked out in partnership with all the major interest groups in Irish society.
"Partnership is the key to implementing the radical changes we propose. Fianna Fail aims to forge a consensus between producers and consumers and between industry and communities for a new national partnership on the environment," he said.
The environment would have to be integrated into all areas of policy not as an afterthought or as some form of window dressing". Accordingly, there was a need for a "root and branch review" of all economic activities which have an impact on it.
Mr Noel Dempsey, the party's environment spokesman, said much higher targets for waste reduction, recycling and composting must be implemented. "The message must be brought home that sustainable development begins at your own kitchen sink."
Among the radical proposals put forward in the 60-page document is a move towards the German system of households segregating their waste, with the aim of reducing the volume requiring disposal at landfill sites by 50 per cent over a period of 15 years.
Fianna Fail believes it is a "national scandal" that landfill remains the primary method for the disposal of waste, and says landfill should only be considered when all other options are exhausted, including re-use, recycling and "waste-to-energy projects.
"Ireland must come to terms with its `long finger' strategy of digging holes in the ground and burying increasing mountains of waste and must seriously examine all the alternatives available," according to the policy document. This would include incineration.
To reduce the volume of packaging waste, the party would introduce a refund scheme based on a levy system for plastic (PET) bottles and aluminium drinks containers. The widespread use of plastic bags by supermarkets would also be taxed, it says.
Fianna Fail says it would introduce mandatory obligations for take-back, refund and recycling of packaging waste "if the relevant sectors fail to take effective action".
Fees for the disposal of waste by industry would also reflect the "polluter pays" principle.
Only the highest standards of clean technology would be allowed in new industrial development and companies would have to demonstrate that they had made every effort to reduce their impact on the environment to qualify for State grants.
An Irish "eco-labelling" scheme would be introduced to support the green consumer industry, while development agencies such as the IDA would be instructed to promote the environmental protection industry.
Farmers who do not comply with environmental regulations "cannot continue to receive premiums", the document says, adding that they "will have to adhere to a code of practice". The problems caused by overgrazing of sheep would also be addressed.
On the transport front car tax would be based on the energy efficiency of vehicles, rather than their engine capacity. Bus lanes in the larger urban areas would be extended and "strictly enforced" while every town would have its own traffic management plan.
City-centre parking spaces would be reduced, with a tough line on illegal parking and incentives for the development of "park and ride" facilities, a charter of pedestrian rights and a programme to develop 100 miles of cycle lanes annually for five years.
The policy document also proposes to double the use of renewable energy to 8 per cent by 2005, as part of a plan to reduce Ireland's annual carbon dioxide emissions by 300,000 tonnes over the next 13 years, effectively bringing them back to 1990 levels.
To help achieve this target, the first-time house purchasers' grant scheme would be tied to energy efficiency. The existing £3,000 grant would remain, but purchasers of houses which meet more stringent energy saving specifications would receive £6,000.
Fianna Fail-says it will "vigorously pursue politically and legally all avenues" to have Sellafield and other British nuclear installations shut down, and it pledged that the case taken by four Dundalk residents against British Nuclear Fuels plc would be "fully funded".
