Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have provided here a formal avenue of complaint by which a person can have some avenue to be heard. I believe this meets the intention of Deputy Clare Daly's amendment. In the first instance, under amendment No. 51, it will be a matter solely for the noise regulator to consider if there are grounds to review a noise assessment where circumstances may have changed. It also gives power for the regulator to direct the airport authority to provide it with any necessary information it requires to undertake such an assessment. Under amendment No. 91, any person can make a complaint to the regulator and ask it to review the effectiveness of noise mitigation measures in place. This provides for a mechanism by which a person with a genuine complaint has somewhere to go and be heard. Amendments Nos. 90 and 92 are consequential on amendment No. 91. In summary, only the regulator can consider whether there is good reason to open up a regulatory decision in between the five-year regulatory cycle but any person can complain to the regulator at any point and request an investigation into non-compliance with a regulatory decision.

I did not propose to mandate the regulator in primary legislation to respond in writing to every single request on the reasonable expectation that Fingal County Council would engage with people in accordance with its own existing citizens charter. Fingal County Council's citizens charter, which is available on its website, sets out the quality of service that can be expected from Fingal County Council across all of its functions, including the availability of information, timeliness, complaints procedures and redress. Primary legislation is not typically the place for setting out detailed administrative procedures such as this. However, in response to what has been said on this issue and in the interests of transparency, I hear what has been said about requiring the noise regulator to write back to people who make complaints. In response to the genuine concerns of Deputies Troy, Clare Daly and Darragh O'Brien, I am prepared to bring an amendment forward to the Seanad on this.

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