asked the Minister for the Environment why the Government sought a further ten year exemption from meeting the EEC standard of lead content in petrol.

12.

asked the Minister for the Environment if he is content with the present level of atmospheric pollution in Irish towns and cities, brought about as a result of the lead content in domestic refined petrol; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

13.

asked the Minister for the Environment if he will give (a) an indication of the average lead content in the atmosphere in Irish towns and cities and (b) how this relates to EEC standards.

: With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 12 and 13 together.

The directive on the approximation of the laws of the member states which was adopted at the Council of Environment Ministers on 30 May 1978 provides that the maximum lead content of petrol sold in the Community shall be 0.40 grammes per litre from 1 January 1981. It also provides for a derogation in the case of Ireland by which the deadline date for reduction of lead content in petrol may be extended from 1981 to 1986, and the possibility of a further period not exceeding five years from 1986.

The need for the derogation arose from the serious economic consequences which full compliance with the directive would have entailed for the refinery at Whitegate. There would have been substantial additional capital and operating costs as well as a significant addition to crude oil imports. The economic disadvantages would not be justified by environmental benefits. The derogation will not apply to imported petrol, which accounts for some 50 per cent of total consumption.

Measurements of the level of lead in the air have been taken on a regular basis in this country during the past few years at two types of site, one an area of high traffic density and the other an urban residential area, both in Dublin city. The levels recorded at these stations for 1977-1978, which I propose to circulate with the Official Report, are not regarded as giving cause for concern.

At present there are no EEC air quality standards for lead.

There is a directive on biological standards for lead and the screening of the population for lead. This directive provides for a procedure for the assessment of current exposure to lead of the population of the member states as shown by the lead content of the blood. The arrangements necessary for the implementation of the directive are being considered by the Minister for Health. I understand that monitoring of this kind so far carried out has shown satisfactory results.

Following is the statement:

CONCENTRATIONS OF LEAD IN THE AMBIENT AIR

(Microgrammes per cubic metre)

O'Connell Street, Dublin:

Sampling time: 4 hours

Sampling frequency: daily (Monday to Friday)

Kilbarrack, Dublin:

Sampling time: 24 hours

Sampling frequency: 24 hours

: Does the Minister feel that the Government decision and the results of the council meeting in Brussels is a major concession by this private enterprise Government to the multinational companies who own and control Whitegate?

: No, I do not agree.

: Has the Minister requested the oil companies who own Whitegate and who have made not inconsiderable profits out of the Irish economy to reinvest some of those profits into bringing Whitegate up to date so that it would comply with the standards in the other eight member states?

: The Whitegate oil refinery by world standards is an old type of refinery.

: I am aware of that.

: It is for economic reasons that this derogation was sought and got. Whitegate refines only 50 per cent of our total requirements and is owned by three major companies. By imposing these tremendous extra costs on them we are endangering the existence of Whitegate. We must bear in mind that oil refineries on the continent, some part-owned or fully-owned by some of the companies concerned, are only working at 60 per cent capacity. We must look at the economic reasons and the urgency of the matter in question, and by other standards we are not in a serious position with regard to the lead content.

: Would the Minister consider that the Government should press the oil companies to develop Whitegate up to a modern standard? If his answer is "no", is it then the position of the Irish Government not to seek a modern oil refinery?

: It is our intention in due course to have a modern oil refinery. Modern oil refineries do not present any problem where lead is concerned. As I said, Whitegate is a particularly old type of oil refinery. The derogation would assist the existing refinery to deal with this problem, but if they had to deal with it in the time under the directive it would cause serious economic problems.

: Is it not a fair conclusion for this side of the House to draw, that faced with the choice between the profits of the oil companies and the environment, the Minister came down on the side of the oil companies?

: That is not a fair conclusion. Our first concern must be that we need power and we get 50 per cent of it through Whitegate, the only existing oil refinery here. If we did not have power we would not have anything to save.

: I believe the oil companies make profits.

: That is not a dirty word.

: I know it is not and I am asking them to invest some of them.

: The Minister has given them ten years' breathing space.

: Deputies will not follow up their questions with arguments.

: With regard to the continued derogation, does it not essentially boil down to the fact that Irish citizens will enjoy a lower standard of environment than their EEC counterparts? With regard to the lead level survey to which the Minister referred, would he indicate whether the levels revealed in that survey are higher or lower than the average in either the World Health Organisation figures or EEC levels?

: With regard to the monitoring to which I referred, we are below most of those who have similarly monitored the situation. For example, we compare very favourably with Brussels.

: Is it not a fact that this derogation essentially means that the lead content in the Irish atmosphere will be higher than our EEC counterparts for the next ten years?

: No, it is not.

: In other words, the Irish citizen is a second-class citizen so far as our EEC counterpart is concerned.

: It does not follow, because at the moment we compare very favourably with many of the other member countries.

: That is a fluke.

: Did the Minister consult with his colleague the Minister for Health before he sought this derogation? Did the Department of Health raise any objections to that derogation?

: These matters are discussed at Government level and it is not the practice to tell Deputies what happened at Government meetings.

: Would the Minister admit that the Department of Health raised objections to this derogation?

: I said at the end of my reply that the Department of Health were monitoring the air situation.

: Is it not a fact that the Department of Health were not happy about this?

: The Deputy is telling me. I have not heard.

: I am asking the Minister if that is not a fact.

: The Deputy is telling me.

: Does the Minister deny that it is a fact?

: I said that I have not been informed that that is the case.

: Do they not talk to the Minister?

: They do.

: If they do then he must have been informed.

: I am calling Question No. 14.