Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will not repeat all the points we made this morning but the same point is repeated at various parts of the Bill as to the process of regulation and what needs to be taken into account as part of that process. All of these amendments are seeking to include health considerations along with a big list of other stuff that also has to be taken into account. When we made the point this morning, the Minister said that health is covered in the regulation anyway so there is no need for it and that was his first argument. The Minister's other argument was that he will not add it in as part of this at this stage. Those two points are, in part, contradictory.

It also comes back to the point I made earlier about cost-effectiveness. For example, under the process of aircraft noise regulation, the Bill states, "the competent authority shall ensure ... the Balanced Approach" and it goes on, and takes into account the likely cost-effectiveness of the measure. The Bill later states that the following combination of measures must be considered with a view to what is the most cost-effective. All of these amendments are simply seeking to ensure that the impact on health is also factored into the considerations when the competent authority is adjudicating and implementing the balanced approach. It is not tying its hands. It is just saying it must be mindful in assessing whatever approach it adopts to include health as a consideration.

The Minister said he is going to come back in the context of Deputy Troy's amendment and the guidelines and maybe we can factor something in around that. The point here, for all of these amendments, is we cannot have this Bill without any reference to health specified in it or any reference in it to the modern guidelines and best scientific advice, because the impetus behind this regulation is to deal with and restrict aviation practices and the noise they create to benefit the health of residents. The idea that we could not put that somewhere in the Bill is mad. I am not going to drone through the pages of other criteria that the competent authority has to take into account but it does not refer to health. I am not saying we should take out cost-effectiveness and replace it with health considerations. I am not saying health considerations have to be the only thing. I am just adding it in as one of the factors that should be considered when the competent authority is doing its job.