Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This was the clear advice of the OPC in consultation with the Attorney General's office. Legal codes need to stay separate. We got very firm advice that there should be no crossover. That is the reason for the amendment to delete the section. It is already well covered under the two Acts that have already gone through, the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 and the Waste Management Act 1996. As I said in my initial response, these more adequately and, crucially, in more detail provide that the EPA is responsible for controlling emissions from licensed activities and that the control of emissions should not be a matter for planning conditions. There is no need for a provision here. We got clear advice from the OPC in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General.