Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I cannot let the Deputy say things like that without any evidence. I have not delayed a decision. There have been delays, but not on my part. I have not procrastinated. If anything, I have put pressure on people to make haste in this. The Deputy is quite correct in saying that delays have happened elsewhere. They certainly have not happened in my Department; in fact, quite the opposite has happened.

As the Deputy is aware, the State is required to appoint an airport noise regulator under EU Regulation 598/2014. That regulation, which came into force in 2016, sets out how all member states should measure, manage and monitor noise at each of their major airports. In Ireland, only Dublin Airport is large enough to fall subject to the regulation.

As I have previously explained to the House, an earlier proposal to appoint the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, as the noise regulator ultimately ran up against legal advices, which made it impracticable. Those are the delays to which the Deputy referred. Therefore, an alternative had to be found. Following discussions between my Department and the Departments of Housing, Planning and Local Government and Communications, Climate Change and Environment, it was agreed that on balance, and having regard to the requirements of the EU regulation, that Fingal County Council offered the best way forward.

It already has responsibilities under an EU environmental noise directive which encapsulates responsibilities relating to noise caused by conurbations and major transport infrastructures, including roads, railways and airports. In addition, having regard to its planning functions, it has considerable experience and expertise in the conduct of environmental impact assessments, appropriate assessments and managing extensive public consultations. There are, therefore, synergies arising from the assignment of this additional role.

A further factor that was taken into consideration was the existing scale of Fingal which means it can relatively easily take on an additional function. It is true that Fingal will have to build some additional expert capacity, but that requirement would arise no matter what body this role is assigned to. The draft legislation will provide for additional funding to provide for this. My proposal was recently endorsed by the Cabinet, and I plan to bring draft legislation forward as soon as possible to give effect to this.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

I think the Deputy is well aware that what I propose is to fully implement an EU regulation on airport noise. I am legally obliged to do so. It represents a new decision-making process, governed by standard EU rules that apply across all member states, and there is no basis for drawing any conclusion as to what the outcome of this new decision-making process will be. I am of the view that this EU regulation which, among other things, includes provision for public consultation and has the safeguard of an independent appeals process, represents a huge improvement on current arrangements.

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