Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is amendment No. 54. We are dealing with exempted developments. One of the categories that should not be deemed exempt is where the development requires an environmental impact assessment, EIA, or an appropriate assessment, AA. I support that. I am looking to broaden it to include an additional category where the activity may have a significant impact on the environment. My argument here is that while EIA and AA are important, and anything that requires either of those should not be considered exempt, there should be a greater latitude for planning authorities to make an assessment to see if something could have a significant impact on the environment. On that basis, they would be able to deem it non-exempt. By way of regulations, the Minister could then set out exactly the criteria against which such decisions could be made. However, it is worth considering in terms of ensuring that exempted developments do not have a significant impact on the environment.