Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I fully appreciate what they are saying and I hope they fully appreciate the fact that the Government has agreed with a lot of what they have said. That is in our amendment and that is in response to what the Deputies have produced.

What I am proposing with these amendments is that the insulation schemes would be deemed to be a noise mitigation measure introduced by the regulator and the provisions of this Bill shall fully apply to it when it is enacted. The regulator will have the full powers of enforcement as if it had required the schemes itself. Furthermore, by virtue of amendment No. 91, which I spoke to earlier, once the schemes are deemed to be noise mitigation measures, any person has the ability to write to the noise regulator and request it to review the effectiveness of the scheme. This amendment achieves what Deputies Troy and Darragh O'Brien have set out to do here, namely, to ensure that this scheme progresses and is monitored and enforced by the regulator. There is absolutely no question in my mind but that what I am providing here is what the Deputies are looking for. Future schemes and expanded schemes will be within the power of the regulator. Nevertheless, I understand the Deputies' apprehension about that and it is only fair to say that we should pass this tonight but I am prepared to look at going even further down the direction which the Deputies are talking about and giving them the reassurance they are seeking in an amendment which we will bring to the Seanad.

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