Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 5 November 2020

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

General Scheme of the Water Environment (Abstractions) Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed)

Dr. Eimear Cotter:

I am building up to that. We have each individual registration on the register and then under the scheme of this Bill, we will look at each particular water body in terms of the risk assessment of what the pressures on it are including the pressure of cumulative abstractions of water. Having gathered the information in the register, step two is that a risk assessment will then be conducted under, I think, head 10 to look at what the pressures are, to see where they are arising in different water bodies which then require a licence.

On significant risk, maybe Ms Gurrie could step in on that. I will go through the public participation and then we can come back to it. Significant risk is defined as an abstraction that would impact on the environmental objectives of the water body or the status of a European site. It is very clearly laid out for those that abstract above 25 cu m. per day.

On public participation and the licensing regime, there are numerous provisions laid out for that public participation. Those who come in for an application are required to notify the public. There is a facility for the public to come in and make submissions during the licensing process and an objection period is also envisaged. Thus, for all our licensing regimes, public participation is a very strong pillar, indeed is a requirement on our licensing. That public participation piece, right through the licensing process, is something that we will maintain in this abstraction licensing regime as we do in all of our licensing regimes.

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