State should cultivate `eco-tax', says OECD

Ireland faces "major difficulties" in bringing its environmental infrastructure to an inter nationally acceptable standard at a time when EU funding is being progressively reduced, according to the OECD.

In its first review of the Republic's environmental performance, the organisation - which represents the world's 29 most developed countries, including Ireland - recommends that more use should be made of "eco-taxation".

Though the review concludes that overall environmental quality is generally good, it says pollution in this State is relatively high compared to other European countries, while environmental management controls are underdeveloped or inadequate.

Because of economic growth, it says there are "growing problems" caused by changes in consumption patterns in terms of waste generation, more car use and urban sprawl. Yet pollution control expenditure, at 0.6 percent of GDP, is lower than elsewhere.

"Since EU support will progressively be phased out as a consequence of its economic performance, Ireland must prepare for a much more significant public and private financial effort with regard to environmental investment and management," the OECD says.

Its review notes there has been "a substantial decline in water quality" in Ireland's rivers and lakes, largely due to increased use of agricultural fertilisers and, in certain "black spot" areas, the absence of adequate municipal sewage treatment systems.

"Drinking water quality in rural areas is variable," according to the OECD. Up to 400,000 people "may receive drinking water of substandard quality", mainly from private or group water schemes - a figure attributed to the Environmental Protection Agency here.

Per-capita air pollution emissions "remain considerably higher than the OECD Europe average", the review says. It calls for "urgent measures" to improve emission controls, especially in power stations that continue to burn "dirty fuels", notably coal, oil and peat.

Waste management is identified as "the environmental area which, until recently, received the least attention in Ireland". Recycling rates are low and "do not meet national targets" while almost all municipal waste is dumped in landfills, instead of being separated at source.

The OECD says "serious efforts" are needed to deal with hazardous waste, of which an estimated 20 per cent is "not reported" - most of it from agriculture. Subsidies for farming "should be reconsidered" and made conditional on meeting environmental standards.

The review also calls for a "systematic analysis of current and future pressures on Ireland's coastal zones, and of policy options to manage their future development and protection" - possibly in the context of the National Spatial Strategy, currently being prepared.

And though it urges an expansion of motorways and "high-quality dual-carriageways", as well as public transport, the review blames "poor land use planning" and lack of integration with traffic management objectives for urban sprawl and increasing car use.

"Overall, there is not enough emphasis on taxing vehicle use, and possibly too much on vehicle ownership," it says.

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said the OECD's 49 recommendations would "not be left on the shelf" and he promised a considered response by mid-2001; indeed, the review is expected to strengthen his Department's hand in pressing for necessary changes.