Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for his interest in this matter. The amendment proposes that the monetary amounts of fines or penalties under the Air Pollution Act be further increased beyond the significant amounts for which I am providing. Paragraph (a) refers to fines on summary conviction and proposes that a larger increase than that proposed by the Government be introduced. This is unnecessary, as I am proposing to align the amounts within the bands provided for by the Fines Act 2010, allowing them to be updated centrally to ensure they remain effective. The Fines Act introduced a new system of categorised bands of fines for minor offences, that is, on summary conviction. This system came into operation on 4 January this year. The maximum amounts are €5,000, €4,000, €2,500, €1,000 and €500 for class A, B, C, D and E offences, respectively. This system is more practical, as the amounts can be periodically changed by the Minister for Justice and Equality to ensure they retain their monetary value and consequent deterrent power. Any change made would apply to all relevant legislation without the necessity of amending individual pieces of legislation and instruments. Furthermore, categorising fines provides for a more consistent penalty system for all environmental law. It is best practice that all new legislation covering minor offences categorise fines in accordance with the bands set in the Fines Act. As I propose to update the fines for offences under the Air Pollution Act in line with the bands applying under the Fines Act, I cannot accept the amendment.

Paragraph (b) refers to fines on conviction on indictment and proposes that a larger increase than the one proposed by the Government be introduced, €800,000 rather than €500,000, with a proportionate increase in the daily fine for a continuing offence to €8,000 rather than €5,000. The proposed increase from £10,000 to €500,000 has been selected to ensure consistency with comparable amounts in other environmental legislative measures. This aims to provide a more consistent penalty system throughout our environmental legislation framework and the maximum fine permitted for a conviction on indictment in legislation transposing EU directives is €500,000, as provided under section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972. Introducing this level of fine to the Air Pollution Act will bring it into line with the monetary penalties in other key environmental legislative measures that originated as EU directives, for example, waste and groundwater regulations. The proposed increase is substantial to reflect the fact that the current fine amount of £10,000 was set in 1987 and has lost significant value and its deterrent effect. The proposed increase will be effective and proportionate and will have the necessary deterrent effect to support the enforcement of the Air Pollution Act. Therefore, the proposed amendment cannot be accepted.

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