Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effect of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended in 1997 and 2003, specifies projects which, by virtue of their nature, size or location are likely to have significant effects on the environment and should be subject to an environmental impact assessment, EIA. Article 4(1) of the directive requires projects listed in Annex I of the directive to be subject to an EIA while Article 4(2) provides that for projects listed in Annex II of the directive member states may determine, either through case by case examination or by setting thresholds or criteria, or both, whether such projects are to be subject to an EIA. The provisions of the EIA directive are transposed into Irish legislation by the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. Under the regulations, an EIA is mandatory for the construction of overhead electrical power lines with a voltage of 220 kV or more and a length of more than 15 km. However, where a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála considers that a development proposal which is below the specified threshold is likely to have significant environmental effects, it is obliged to request an environmental impact statement from the developer.

See this speech in context