EU: The Taoiseach has been urged to resist pressure for a "quick economic fix" and to embrace instead long-term solutions for Europe based on the principles of sustainable development.
"If we do not keep our soil, water, the genetic wealth of our biodiversity, we will not have prosperity in the near future, but only increasing social tensions and hardships", said Mr Ralph Hallo, president of the European Environment Bureau (EEB).
The bureau, which represents environmental groups throughout the EU, was jointly hosting a conference in Dublin Castle with the European Trade Union Confederation and the Platform of European Social NGOs (non-governmental organisations).
They appealed directly to the Taoiseach to launch at the 2004 spring summit a major programme of public investment in housing, transport and other essential areas to generate social and environmental benefits as well as more employment.
The aim of the conference was to encourage the Irish EU Presidency to take much-needed steps towards integrating sustainable investment in all areas of EU spending, in line with a joint manifesto prepared by the three organisations involved.
The manifesto says the EU's Stability and Growth Pact must be brought into line with the Lisbon-Gothenburg sustainable development objectives and must be reformed to encourage long-term public investment to bring about such development.
Given that public procurement represents 16 per cent of all purchases in the EU, the manifesto says sustainable investment in public spending would allow society to take a serious jump forward in terms of ecological efficiency.
Mr Dirk Jarré, vice-president of the Social Platform, said: "It's not spending new money, it's targeting the funds better. Sustainable investment is not an extra burden on society, it's an investment in Europe's future."
Mr John Monks, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said the economic and social situation was "much too serious to continue to use the principles of the Stability and Growth Pact as an excuse to render action impossible".
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, said the Irish presidency was "open to good ideas from every source" and while he did not see eye-to-eye with the three organisations on every point in their manifesto, it was a valuable contribution.
Despite major capital investment in recent years, Ireland was "still in deficit in terms of transport infrastructure and will be playing 'catch up' for some considerable time". The objective was to do so "in a way that minimises the environmental impact".
Mr Cullen told the conference that one of the objectives of planning guidelines under the National Spatial Strategy would be to ensure that decisions on physical development have regard to transport and environmental consequences.
"Housing is not just about bricks and mortar. Our aim is to build sustainable communities", he declared.