(AQO 243/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: The Executive's Programme for Government clearly recognises the importance of the strategic roads network to the economy. It is necessary to take strategic decisions on key infrastructure issues because of the budgets involved and, for that reason, the Executive has set aside £40 million over a number of years to ensure that the Trans European Network Route from Larne to the border south of Newry is developed coherently. The major investment in the A8, the Westlink and the Newry-Dundalk road will strengthen the competitiveness of the ports of Belfast, Larne and Warrenpoint and help to improve our economy. The dualling of the proposed Newry to Dundalk road will have a significant contribution to make to cross-border trade and mobility.

Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail what measures are in the Programme for Government to achieve social inclusion for farmers and workers groups in West Tyrone.

(AQO 212/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: The Programme for Government highlights the Executive's commitment to a society in which people can share in growing prosperity and in which there is equality of opportunity and justice for all. This commitment applies to all groups of people in all parts of Northern Ireland.

We are very much aware of the particular difficulties facing the farming community and other sectors and the draft Programme which we presented to the Assembly on 24 September recognises this. The draft Programme also restates our commitment to implementing all targets and actions in departments' New TSN action plans, actions that are designed to tackle social need and promote social inclusion. It includes specific commitments on provision of help for those seeking employment and for those seeking to maintain and enhance their own employability.

The draft Programme for Government also commits the Executive to taking forward an action plan for the strategic development of the agri-food industry for the next decade - work that will be influenced by the very comprehensive report from the Vision for the Future of the Agri-food Industry group - and to training programmes to help farmers adapt to changing business practices and consumer demands.

It is, of course, important to point out that we are in the process of consulting with Assembly Committees and others on the Executive's draft Programme. If the Member has ideas that he wishes to submit on the areas he has highlighted, we would be very glad to have these.

Ms Patricia Lewsley asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline the consideration given to representation on the Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) Forum.

(AQO 232/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: The Forum was established on an ad hoc basis to contribute to the development of proposals for the Commissioner for Children and a children's strategy.

The current membership of the Forum was drawn from the core members of the 'Putting Children First' campaign as this includes the major children's organisations and umbrella groups for the smaller children's organisations across the country. Umbrella organisations in relation to disability and ethnic minorities were also included, in order to ensure that these particular issues are considered with respect to children.

We have received representations from a number of organisations, suggesting that membership should be more broadly based, notably from faith-based organisations and organisations working with disabled children. The Forum itself has also asked us to review its composition.

We therefore intend to review the composition of the Forum in the very near future and, in doing so, we shall give careful consideration to the representations made to us.

Dr Alasdair McDonnell asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail (a) the number of quangos within the responsibility of the Office; (b) the cost of each; and (c) any plans to review them.

(AQO 199/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: The Office currently has responsibility for 4 quangos, which are:-

Northern Ireland Economic Council

Statute Law Committee for Northern Ireland

Planning Appeals Commission

Water Appeals Commission

The cost of each is as follows:-

Northern Ireland Economic Council £500k per annum

Statute Law Committee for Northern Ireland Nil

Planning Appeals Commission

] Joint Cost of £1.2m per annum

Water Appeals Commission

A review of the Economic Council has just been completed and its recommendations are being considered by Ministers. There are no plans to carry out a review of the Statute Law Committee and a quinquennial review of The Planning Appeals Commission and Water Appeals commission is being considered for the current financial year.

Mr Tommy Gallagher asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to outline what account has been taken of the responses from Assembly Committees in drafting the Programme for Government and, in particular, the response from the Committee for Health, Social Services and Public Safety.

(AQO 229/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: We were pleased with the constructive and comprehensive response we received from Assembly Committees to the Executive's Position Report on the Programme for Government and Budget. These responses were considered very carefully by all departments and helped shape the development of the draft Programme that we presented to the Assembly on 24 September 2001.

The Committees generally supported the Executive's five priorities and, in light of this support, these priorities have remained unchanged in the draft Programme.

In response to specific comments made by the Health Committee and echoed by other groups, the draft Programme includes a much stronger focus on meeting the needs of children; on accident prevention; on moving forward on hospital services in the light of the Report of the Acute Hospitals Review Group; and on improved cross-departmental collaboration.

Mr Alex Maskey asked the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to detail the steps the Equality and Community Relations Units have initiated to combat sectarianism.

(AQO 225/01)

Sir Reg Empey and Mr Seamus Mallon MP: The Community Relations Unit of our office tackles sectarianism by providing grants to the Community Relations Council and to the District Councils under the District Council Community Relations Programme. The Unit also provides assistance toward the building of neutral venues for local communities.

The Unit, through the Community Relations Council, was responsible for the administration of the Pathways to Reconciliation measure of the European Peace I Programme (EUSSPPR), and will be also for the Reconciliation for Sustainable Peace measure of the European Peace II Programme. It also administered directly, in conjunction with the Department of Education, the Community Relations Measure of the EU Physical and Social Environment Sectoral Programme.

The Research Branch within Equality and Social Need Division also funds community relations research projects.

In developing a cross-departmental community relations strategy, we shall include measures to tackle the underlying causes of community division, sectarianism and racism, as well as measures to ensure an effective and co-ordinated response to sectarian and racial intimidation.

As a first step, we are examining current practice throughout the devolved administration for responding to such intimidation, and how this could be improved on and taken forward.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail whether consultation had taken place with all relevant parties in relation to granting a licence to Ice Hockey UK to become the National Governing Body.

(AQW 122/01)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): [holding answer 2 October 2001]: Licenses are not granted to enable Governing Bodies for a particular sport to operate. Ice Hockey UK (IHUK) was formed by a democratic process in 1997 to take over from the British Ice Hockey Association (BIHA). Members of the BIHA (which included England and Scotland, but not Northern Ireland) were involved in this process.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail whether the rules of Ice Hockey UK are available for inspection and consideration.

(AQW 123/01)

Mr McGimpsey: [holding answer 2 October 2001]: The rules of Ice Hockey UK are currently being amended but they should be available for inspection from the beginning of December 2001.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he could confirm that Ice Hockey UK has the sole licence for ice hockey and playing teams in Northern Ireland.

(AQW 124/01)

Mr McGimpsey: [holding answer 2 October 2001]: Ice Hockey UK is the recognised voice of Ice Hockey in the UK at international level. It represents the playing interests of UK teams within the World body - the International Ice Hockey Federation, and provides the structures within which Ice Hockey is played on a competitive basis.

(AQW 192/01)

Mr McGimpsey: There are no projects overseen by my Department which receive US funding and as such I have no indication of any withdrawal of funding.

Mr Mark Robinson asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail his plans in relation to the redevelopment of the South Stand at Windsor Park, Belfast.

(AQW 198/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I am fully aware of the condition of the South Stand at Windsor Park. However the final report on the Soccer Strategy is expected to recommend that Northern Ireland should have a stadium that meets international standards for football. Any further development at Windsor Park will, therefore, have to be considered in the light of this recommendation.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure if he has any plans to meet the Clerk responsible for the road-racing events held at Carrowdore, Tandragee, Cookstown, Mid Antrim and Dundrod 150.

(AQW 211/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I assume that your question arises out of the IMS Report recommendation that consideration should be given to the cessation of national road races in the province.

I do not have any plans to meet with individual related groups at this time. It is ultimately a matter for the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland (MCUI), who represent the road racing community, to determine the future for their sport.

The MCUI has recently signed up to a strategic review process for motorsport, alongside all other motorsport governing bodies. The Review will provide the MCUI with an opportunity to respond formally to the IMS Report recommendations - including articulating the concerns of individual clubs. I can assure you that this process, which is being facilitated by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland, is founded on the basis of consent, rather than imposition, and in short, places the future of road racing firmly in the hands of the Motor Cycle Union of Ireland.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (a) the role undertaken by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland in the International Motor Sports Ltd road racing report and (b) whether the Sports Council has considered the impact that this report will have on road racing.

(AQW 222/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The Sports Council for Northern Ireland commissioned, on my behalf, International Motorsports Ltd to undertake a study to review the current state of the province's existing short circuits and to determine the demand, viability and feasibility of establishing a Regional Motorsports Facility.

The Sports Council recognise that some of the recommendations of the Report are contentious, and have caused some difficulty for the motorcycle road race community, but they are not in a position to offer a specific comment in advance of the further consideration that will be given to this issue by them and the governing bodies during the course of a strategic review, which should be completed by the beginning of next year.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to detail (a) those people who were asked to provide evidence by International Motor Sports Ltd (IMS) in respect of their report on road racing and (b) how wide was their contact with those clubs that organise the five road races recommended for closure by IMS.

(AQW 224/01)

Mr McGimpsey: International Motor Sports consulted with motor sports governing bodies, the related interested parties and the general public during their evidence gathering period. Although the consultants did not meet with individual clubs, all motorsport clubs were asked to offer their views, through a questionnaire, meetings were held with governing bodies and potential developers/circuit owners, and market research was undertaken to gauge the views of the wider community.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to give his assessment of the International Motor Sports Ltd report on road racing and if he is aware of concerns expressed by local clubs and enthusiasts in respect of the report.

(AQW 225/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I recognise that some of the recommendations of the Report are contentious, and have caused some difficulty for the motorcycle road race community, but it would not be appropriate for me to offer a specific comment in advance of the further consideration that will be given by the governing bodies and Sports Council.

Mr Gerry Adams asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to identify events supported by the Northern Ireland Events Company which generated a profit.

(AQW 227/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The policy of the Northern Ireland Events Company is that it does not provide funding support for events which make a profit. The Company does provide underwriting facilities for events where there is any potential to make a profit but funding is dependent on the event operating at a loss and is capped by the limit of the underwriting given.

The relationship between my Department and the Northern Ireland Events Company is governed by a standard Financial Memorandum which requires the Company to adopt business practices and procedures which are consistent with all relevant public sector policies. With specific regard to New Targeting Social Need for all those events that meet all the specified core criteria an appraisal is undertaken which includes consideration of New Targeting Social Need objectives.

The Northern Ireland Events Company does not run events. It provides the minimum level of funding required to enable events to take place, which would not happen without the Events Company support. The Company sets individual performance targets for each event, which relate to its funding, but it does not necessarily have comprehensive information on revenue generated per event.

The Company did, however, commission an external appraisal of the impact made by events supported during 1998/99 and 1999/2000. This indicated that total funding of £1.6m on these events generated a return of £11m to the local economy.

Mr Gerry Adams asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to outline the steps taken to ensure that funds distributed by the Northern Ireland Events Company reflects the Department's commitment to Targeting Social Need.

(AQW 228/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The policy of the Northern Ireland Events Company is that it does not provide funding support for events which make a profit. The Company does provide underwriting facilities for events where there is any potential to make a profit but funding is dependent on the event operating at a loss and is capped by the limit of the underwriting given.

The relationship between my Department and the Northern Ireland Events Company is governed by a standard Financial Memorandum which requires the Company to adopt business practices and procedures which are consistent with all relevant public sector policies. With specific regard to New Targeting Social Need for all those events that meet all the specified core criteria an appraisal is undertaken which includes consideration of New Targeting Social Need objectives.

The Northern Ireland Events Company does not run events. It provides the minimum level of funding required to enable events to take place, which would not happen without the Events Company support. The Company sets individual performance targets for each event, which relate to its funding, but it does not necessarily have comprehensive information on revenue generated per event.

The Company did, however, commission an external appraisal of the impact made by events supported during 1998/99 and 1999/2000. This indicated that total funding of £1.6m on these events generated a return of £11m to the local economy.

Mr Gerry Adams asked the Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure to quantify the revenue per event generated by the Northern Ireland Events company since 2000.

(AQW 229/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The policy of the Northern Ireland Events Company is that it does not provide funding support for events which make a profit. The Company does provide underwriting facilities for events where there is any potential to make a profit but funding is dependent on the event operating at a loss and is capped by the limit of the underwriting given.

The relationship between my Department and the Northern Ireland Events Company is governed by a standard Financial Memorandum which requires the Company to adopt business practices and procedures which are consistent with all relevant public sector policies. With specific regard to New Targeting Social Need for all those events that meet all the specified core criteria an appraisal is undertaken which includes consideration of New Targeting Social Need objectives.

The Northern Ireland Events Company does not run events. It provides the minimum level of funding required to enable events to take place, which would not happen without the Events Company support. The Company sets individual performance targets for each event, which relate to its funding, but it does not necessarily have comprehensive information on revenue generated per event.

The Company did, however, commission an external appraisal of the impact made by events supported during 1998/99 and 1999/2000. This indicated that total funding of £1.6m on these events generated a return of £11m to the local economy.

Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of Education to detail the capital cost per child that has been invested in (a) the nursery education sector and (b) pre-school playgroups for each of the last three years.

(AQW 219/01)

The Minister of Education (Mr McGuinness): The Department of Education funds places in pre-school playgroups on a recurrent basis through the Pre-School Education Expansion Programme. It does not allocate capital funding to them.

The capital cost per child invested by my Department for the expansion of the statutory nursery sector over the last three years is £2,555.00. It is more appropriate to make an assessment over the 3 year period rather than on the basis of individual years as capital expenditure on nursery schools and units can straddle financial years.

(AQW 202/01)

The Minister of the Environment (Mr Foster): My Department intends to publish the draft proposals for the new Ards/Down Area Plan in March 2002.

Mr Derek Hussey asked the Minister of the Environment to detail (a) the significance of timber remains recently discovered in the River Mourne at Strabane (b) any plans that the Environmental and Heritage Service may have for their preservation and/or display and (c) what liaison has taken place to date on this matter with Strabane District Council.

(AQW 215/01)

Mr Foster: (a) I understand that the timbers were found during development works on the riverbank. They have been examined the Centre for Maritime Archaeology in the University of Ulster, Coleraine. The timbers have been dated to the late 17^th century and it is thought that they may have formed part of an early bridge or jetty at a traditional fording place of the river.

(b) The conservation and display of the Strabane timbers is not a responsibility of my Department's Environment and Heritage Service (EHS), although its staff may provide specialist advice.

I should add that the timbers were discovered during development work. It was a condition of the planning approval for this development that a programme of archaeological works be agreed with my Department and implemented by the developer. However, the development proceeded before any programme could be agreed or implemented; as a result no archaeologist was present to observe the discovery of the timbers, to investigate the site where they were found, or to look for other evidence which might increase our knowledge and understanding of the remains. In such circumstances, the interest of these timbers is limited to what may be speculated about them.

My officials are currently considering the issues raised by this case in view of the fact that development took place without agreement on or implementation of a programme of archaeological works.

(c) I understand that members of Strabane District Council have raised this issue with Planning Service. Meanwhile, EHS staff have spoken with Council staff and are offering advice on the potential for preservation of the timbers.

Mrs Joan Carson asked the Minister of the Environment how the proposed licences, under the Mineral Development Act (NI) 1969, for lignite extraction at Coagh and Stewartstown will affect Areas of Special Scientific Interest in the Lough Neagh area and what restrictions will he consider to ensure the protection of Areas of Special Scientific Interest in the Lough Neagh area with regard to the aforementioned licences.

(AQW 257/01)

Mr Foster: I am advised by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) that no licences for the extraction of lignite at Coagh or Stewartstown are being considered. Applications for two prospecting licences are being considered by DETI, but, even if these licences were granted, they would not permit the company to extract lignite in commercial quantities.

A prospecting licence entitles an exploration company to undertake a programme of work agreed with DETI. If the company is encouraged by the results of that programme, it may decide to apply for a mining licence, but is under no obligation to do so. Any application for a mining licence would be subject to a further, separate consultation process. Moreover, the company would have to apply for planning permission and, as part of this, prepare an Environmental Statement.

DETI is now undertaking consultation on the prospecting licences and comments are invited by 14 October 2001.

My Department will be responding to this consultation. My officials will give DETI details of sites designated for nature conservation purposes within, and in close proximity to, the areas covered by the applications. This will include designations affecting Lough Neagh. This information will assist DETI in assessing the potential impact of the licences on the environment.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment what monitoring takes place of emissions from BNFL Sellafield and is the data available for the general public.

(AQW 290/01)

Mr Foster: Discharges into the Irish Sea from BNFL Sellafield are authorised by the Environment Agency for England and Wales. While my Department has no jurisdiction over Sellafield, it has a comprehensive monitoring programme in place to assess the impact on the Northern Ireland coastline.

My Department's Environment and Heritage Service arranges for samples of seawater, seaweed, sediments, fish, nephrops, mussels and winkles to be collected quarterly and forwarded to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Laboratory in Lowestoft for analysis. This programme has been continuing since the 1970s.

The levels of radioactivity measured indicate that they are of negligible radiological significance.

The Environment and Heritage Service also monitors the gamma dose rate in air over intertidal sediments in each council area that has a coastline. The results indicate minimal radioactive deposition and are consistent with normal background levels.

The Northern Ireland results are published annually in a report entitled "Radioactivity in Food and the Environment" issued by the Food Standards Agency and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency in the Northern Ireland Abstract of Statistics and in the biennial report of my Department's Chief Radiochemical Inspector.

Mr Jim Shannon asked the Minister of the Environment what communication has taken place between his Department and management at BNFL Sellafield.

(AQW 291/01)

Mr Foster: The Department's Industrial Pollution and Radiochemical Inspectorate has visited the site on several occasions over the last 10 years to familiarise themselves with the operations carried out there.

Apart from those visits there has been no contact with the management at BNFL Sellafield.

Discharges from the Sellafield site are authorised by the Environment Agency in England and Wales. The Agency keeps the Department's Chief Radiochemical Inspector fully informed about developments on the Sellafield site.

My Department's Environment and Heritage Service has a very comprehensive monitoring programme in place to assess the impact of discharges into the Irish Sea on the Northern Ireland coastline and the results are published annually.

The monitoring programme is reviewed on an annual basis to ensure its effectiveness and is modified as necessary to reflect changes in the Sellafield operations.

Dr Ian Adamson asked the Minister of the Environment what steps the Environment and Heritage Service has taken to publicise the connection between the British church at Whithorn in Galloway and the monastery at Nendrum in East Ulster.

(AQW 303/01)

Mr Foster: The view of my Department's Environment and Heritage Service is that there is no strong connection between Nendrum and Whithorn, other than the fact that both are important and well-known early monastic sites. It has therefore taken no steps to publicise any connection.

EHS archaeologists have had professional contact with Whithorn archaeologists and have visited the site.

Mr John Dallat asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of apartments in the Coleraine Planning District which have received planning approval and have been completed but remain unoccupied.

(AQO 239/01)

Mr Foster: I cannot answer the question as framed by the Member, as my Department does not maintain information on housing development occupancies. My Department does conduct an annual survey on completions but the most recent survey has not yet been completed. I will write to the Member when information is to hand.

However, as regards approvals granted by my Department, I can inform the Member that, from September 1998, 103 applications for apartment developments totalling 1160 units have been granted planning permission in the Coleraine Sub-Divisional Planning area covering the Boroughs of Coleraine, Ballymoney and Moyle. During the same period, 27 applications for apartment development totalling 224 units were refused.

Ms Carmel Hanna asked the Minister of the Environment to detail (a) what plans he has to assist the three council groups in formulating the waste management strategy and (b) whether adequate funding and help will be in place for the consultation and education programme as well as its practical implementation.

(AQO 196/01)

Mr Foster: On the first part of the question, my Department's Waste Management Strategy, published in March 2000 provided guidance on the development of their Waste Management Plans. In addition, officials have provided guidance on the development of the Partnership Groups and on identification of the Best Practicable Environmental Option, along with comprehensive information on waste arisings.

My Department has also recently consulted on a draft Planning Policy Statement concerned with planning policies for the development of waste management facilities.

Financial assistance totalling £130,000 has already been provided to the Partnership Groups to assist with the development of their Plans. I am currently considering what further financial assistance they may need to complete their plans or to support pilot schemes in areas such as recycling and composting.

On the second part of the question, the Strategy recognises the need to change public attitudes to reduction, recycling and recovery of waste. My Department will be mounting public awareness and education campaigns to address this need. Some £500,000 is being allocated to these campaigns in this financial year, of whichapproximately £100,000 will be for education. The campaigns will be planned to coincide with public consultation on Council Waste Management Plans.

My Department will be appointing specialist consultants to assist with the development and implementation of effective campaigns. Part of the specification will be the production of generic promotional materials for district councils to use as part of their own public consultation programmes.

Mrs Annie Courtney asked the Minister of the Environment to detail the number of applications under Article 31 of the Planning (NI) Order 1991 that have been lodged by developers in the Derry City Council area in each of the last five years.

(AQO 237/01)

My Department has applied the Article 31 procedure in the Derry City Council area to two applications submitted by developers in 1997 and 1998 respectively. No applications submitted by developers have been designated as Article 31 since then.

Mr Eddie McGrady asked the Minister of the Environment to detail when he intends to reinstate Conservation Grants; and to make a statement.

(AQO 195/01)

Mr Foster: My Department continues to make Conservation Area grant payments. Grants being made to individuals arise from commitments made before a moratorium on new grant applicationswas imposed in 1998. Grants are also made to groups taking forward schemes under the Townscape Heritage Initiative, which is run and part funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In 2000/2001 the total grants paid out by my Department to individuals and groups amounted to £718,000.

Lifting the moratorium on new applications depends on there being a grant budget available to meet demand. However, the current commitments to individual property owners and to Townscape Heritage Initiative schemes are continuing to place pressure on my Department's annual budget. The budget in 2001/2002 is £518,000 and I have bid for an additional £150,000 in the September monitoring round. I would also have liked to allocate further funding, but this could not be accommodated in the Executive's recently published draft Budget.

I cannot therefore lift the moratorium on new grant applications from individual property owners. However, I will continue to make the case for funding in this area and I will be happy to lift the moratorium should additional funds become available.

Mr Conor Murphy asked the Minister of the Environment to detail whether the Development Plans for the 26 District Council areas are proceeding according to schedule.

(AQO 221/01)

Mr Foster: As set out in the Draft Programme for Government, my Department's target is to adopt 6 Development Plans and publish 7 Draft Development Plans by the end of March 2003, and to have full Development Plan coverage of all District Council areas in Northern Ireland by the end of 2005.

My Department is currently on schedule to meet this commitment, with the exception of the Dungannon and South Tyrone Area Plan. This has been delayed significantly due to uncertainty by the Department of Regional Development's Roads Service about the proposed line for the Dungannon Through Pass.

Mr Roy Beggs asked the Minister of the Environment to advise how the Planning Service, in zoning land for housing development, takes into consideration the environmental impact of subsequent requirements for providing emergency sewage overflows.

(AQO 200/01)

Mr Foster: During the preparation of Development Plans, my Department undertakes extensive consultation prior to plan publication with many statutory bodies. These include the Department for Regional Development's Water Service and the Environmental Health Departments of the relevant District Councils. This is done in order to ensure that there are no major environmental constraints affecting lands identified for future housing development. In designating new areas for development, the capacity of existing sewage facilities is a major material consideration.

The information and advice received provides an important input to the comprehensive environmental appraisal which Planning Service undertakes as a background to the policies and proposals contained in the Plan.

My Department also undertakes consultation with both of these bodies as part of the normal processing of relevant planning applications. Where a pumping station forms part of the planned infrastructure, and an emergency overflow facility is required by the Water Service, the developer is required to liaise with both the Department for Regional Development's Water Service and my Department's Environment and Heritage Service.

As a standard practice throughout the UK, such a facility is subject to the consent of the regulator, which in Northern Ireland is my Department's Environment and Heritage Service.

Mr Oliver Gibson asked the Minister of the Environment to advise if he has received sufficient funding from the draft Budget proposals to improve road safety.

(AQO 214/01)

Mr Foster: Since devolution I have been successful in securing significantly increased resources for road safety. The allocation in the current year has enabled my Department to appoint 10 additional Road Safety Education Officers, doubling the number of officials working with schools on road safety. I have also been able to increase the resources for my Department's road safety publicity campaigns by some 75% over pre-devolution levels.

All 10 new Road Safety Education Officers are in place, giving fresh impetus to the promotion of road safety through the schools. They have also enabled the courses for convicted drink/drive offenders to be made available throughout Northern Ireland, as well as allowing the development of new initiatives such as driver improvement schemes, practical child pedestrian safety training at the roadside and a scheme for monitoring the fitting of child safety restraints.

The additional resources for publicity have allowed new hard-hitting campaigns to be launched reinforcing the key road safety messages on drink-driving, speed and seatbelts.

This increased level of funding has been maintained in the draft Budget for 2002/2003 and will allow my Department to continue to make an enhanced contribution to improving road safety through its education and promotional activities.

It is important to bear in mind that improvements in road safety depend primarily on road user behaviour, but also on the enforcement activities of the police and the engineering activities of the Department of Regional Development's Roads Service.

Mr John Kelly asked the Minister of the Environment to detail what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Republic of Ireland to draw up a common position on the Sellafield nuclear reactor.

(AQO 222/01)

Mr Foster: I have had no discussions with my counterpart in the Republic on matters relating to Sellafield. Discharges from Sellafield are regulated by the Environment Agency in England and Wales and, consequently, neither I nor my Department has any jurisdiction in this matter.

However, Sellafield was one of the topics selected by the Environment Sector of the British/Irish Council, at its inaugural meeting in October 2000, to form part of its initial work programme. The Irish and Manx Governments agreed to lead in the preparation of a paper for consideration at a future meeting of BIC. I shall, of course, put forward any relevant Northern Ireland considerations in future BIC discussions.

I recognise, moreover, that this is a sensitive issue and I am aware of the concerns that many people have about the Sellafield plant. My Department therefore monitors radioactivity levels from Sellafield discharges at a number of locations across Northern Ireland. It is reassuring to know that the data collected consistently demonstrate low radioactivity levels which give no cause for public concern.

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