Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

On behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, I am happy to have the opportunity to introduce the Bill. The purpose of this Bill is to set out a system of controls on the abstraction and impoundment of water to protect our water environment and to ensure compliance with Ireland's responsibilities under the water framework directive.

Article 11(3) of the directive requires member states to implement measures to control the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater, and impoundment of fresh surface water. This provision of the directive has not been transposed into Irish law before now, and the Bill is a significant milestone in Ireland's overall environmental protection measures. Unfortunately, the absence of a comprehensive and modern abstraction management and control regime in Ireland has led to the EU to open infringement proceedings against Ireland for failure to fully transpose the directive. Enactment of the legislation will form a considerable part of Ireland's response to these proceedings.

In general, abstraction pressures on our water system are relatively low compared to some of the more significant pressures identified in the Draft River Basin Management Plan 2022-2027. Detailed assessments of our water bodies by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and the local authority waters programme, LAWPRO, as part of our river basin management planning cycles will aim to refine and identify the most significant abstraction pressures. This will give us a better picture of the nature of these pressures and the water bodies most affected.

Changes to our climate and meteorological pattern in recent years have also given rise to concerns over the management of our water resources. Not only do we want to have waters of sufficient quality, we also want sufficient quantity of water to supply our growing population centres and industries and to help us to continue to produce high quality foods on our land.

At a high level, the Bill provides for a modern registration, licensing and control regime for water abstractions. Its focus is on the largest abstractions in Ireland, and those smaller abstractions that may be causing short-term or ongoing environmental damage. It is designed to be based on the risk of a water body not meeting its environmental objectives under the water framework directive and is not intended to control all abstractions. This risk-based approach is in keeping with the principles of the directive and is similar to the approach taken in other EPA environmental licensing regimes. The proposed system of registration and licensing is to be administered by the EPA, with local authorities also maintaining an ongoing enforcement role.

The Bill also includes provisions relating to water impoundment infrastructure associated with abstractions. For example, where a dam or other barrier is interrupting the flow of a river for the purposes of abstracting water, the controls in the licence will extend to the operation of the impounding infrastructure. I will reiterate that for the benefit of others. I do not normally deal with matters relating to this Department and last night when I came across the word "abstractions" and the associated term, "impoundments", I had to consult Mr. Google to find out exactly what it was. In fairness, that was before I got the full briefing from the Department. For people listening in, they must be a little bit curious as to what we are talking about. Abstraction is sinking a well and getting water out of the ground or from a river or reservoir. Impoundment is essentially a technical word for what one might call a dam on a river or lake. If I am not correct in my layman's interpretation, Members can feel free to correct me. I want to explain what we are talking about, as some people will not understand the technical words we use here today.

The most significant abstractor of water in Ireland is Irish Water. Upwards of 80% of the current registered water abstractions are drinking water abstractions operated by Irish Water. The provisions of the Bill will allow Irish Water to operate these abstractions within a framework that protects the quantity of water available, and will ensure that the EPA can regulate these abstractions appropriately.

In particular, the provisions of the Bill will allow for a streamlined, comprehensive and robust application process for the water supply project from the Parteen Basin to supply the eastern and midlands region. It modernises the legal framework around significant abstractions and will ensure that appropriate levels of oversight and control will be applied to that proposed abstraction.

The powers provided for Irish Water in respect of its abilities to interfere with water rights where it proposes to carry out a public abstraction are retained from the currently operating Water Supplies Act 1942, and are required to be retained to allow for the repeal of that Act. No new power is being granted to Irish Water in this respect.

Where Irish Water proposes to carry out a public abstraction, a robust objections procedure is provided for. Where there are materially adverse effects on water rights arising as a result of the carrying out of a public abstraction by Irish Water, the Bill provides for a clear compensation framework.

The issue of the thresholds for registration of water abstractions was raised during Seanad scrutiny of this Bill, specifically in respect of the lowering of the registration threshold to 10 cu. m. The Department gave the issue of the registration threshold careful consideration. This included the recommendations of the pre-legislative scrutiny, PLS, report, which resulted in changes to the Bill to give the Minister the power to alter thresholds on the recommendation of the EPA. I note again that the choice of thresholds is based on scientific evidence and data and this system is risk based. It does not seek to impose requirements where they are not necessary on environmental grounds, especially in the resource intensive area of licensing. The Department is confident that the EPA will have the ability under this system to fully protect our water bodies and enable them to meet their environmental objectives established under the river basin management plan in line with the water framework directive.

The EPA estimates that the registration threshold of 25 cu. m per day captures 99.5% of the total volume of water abstracted on any given day, and that a reduction to 10 cu. m per day would account for additional registration of just 0.1% of water abstracted in the State, while simultaneously resulting in an estimated additional 10,000 registrations. If we were to go with the lower rate, we would cover 99.6% of the volume of water abstracted, whereas going with the 25 cu. m per day would cover 99.5%. That obviates the need for approximately 10,000 additional registrations being continued.

The lower rate would result in a five-fold increase in the administrative burden on the EPA in undertaking the assessment of significance under section 18 and potentially lead to delays in the licensing of the more high-risk abstractions. The Department is confident that the EPA will have the ability under this system to protect our water bodies and enable them to meet their environmental objectives established under the river basin management plan in line with the water framework directive.

I will now elaborate on some of the Bill's provisions. This is a relatively detailed Bill comprising 11 Parts, 116 sections and one Schedule. It is largely a technical Bill.

Part 1, covering sections 1 to 7, addresses preliminary and general matters. These include the Title of the Bill, arrangements for bringing the Bill into operation and standard provisions. It also includes in section 7 some existing legislative measures that are being repealed to allow for the strengthened legal provisions of the Bill.

Part 2 confers regulation-making powers on the Minister to regulate unlicensed abstractions. This will include abstractions below the registration threshold and those awaiting a decision on a licence application. Local authorities will be responsible for ensuring compliance with these regulations under Part 9.

Part 3 details the exemptions from the requirements of the Bill that may be applied by the Minister by way of regulation. This covers exemptions allowed for under the water framework directive.

Part 4 includes sections 11 to 13 and provides for the maintenance of a register of abstractions over a threshold of 25 cu. m per day by the EPA. These provisions replace the provisions of the European Union (Water Policy) (Abstractions Registration) Regulations 2018, which are repealed under section 7 of the Bill.

Part 5 is the most substantial Part and sets out the principal licensing provisions for those abstractions that require a licence. Sections 14 to 20 contain the main provisions relating to abstractions that require a licence. These include the circumstances in which an abstractor is required to apply for a licence, the requirements on the EPA to assess these applications and the powers to grant or refuse a licence. They also provide for the Minister to vary the thresholds for licensing.

Sections 21 to 28 address licence applications that require environmental impact assessments, EIAs, to be carried out. These sections place particular emphasis on the procedures to be followed in determining an EIA, the level of detail required to make a full assessment and, most important, the co-ordination of EIAs between the EPA and the relevant planning authorities.

Sections 29 to 36 relate to licence applications for abstractions that may be subject to retrospective EIAs. A retrospective EIA is required in those cases where the EPA determines that an EIA was required and should have been made prior to or after the commencement of the abstraction. For a variety of reasons, an EIA may not have been undertaken at the time the abstraction commenced. The processes set out in these sections of the Bill ensure that the appropriate EIA is undertaken and all legal obligations are met and adhered to.

Sections 37 to 45 provide for combined abstraction licence applications. These are applications that comprise existing abstractions - those operating prior to the commencement of the Bill - and revised abstractions that will increase the existing abstraction rates. The purpose of these sections is to ensure that the existing abstraction is sufficiently assessed in terms of any retrospective EIA and to provide for an equally robust assessment of the future proposed abstraction rate. Scenarios like this may arise where population growth predictions necessitate an increase in drinking water supplies.

The next chapter of Part 5 includes sections 46 to 55 and provides for a number of different requirements to complement the previous licensing sections. This chapter includes provisions around applications for joint licences, surrenders, transfers, reviews, revocations and suspensions. These provisions are all necessary to allow the EPA and licenceholders sufficient scope to address changing circumstances as they arise and enhance the ability of the EPA to manage the risks associated with these changes.

The final few sections of Part 5 are sections 56 to 59. These contain miscellaneous provisions relating to licensing that provide for judicial reviews of decisions, regulation-making powers for the Minister, EPA guidelines for the licensing process and minor amendments to the licences.

Part 6 focuses solely on abstractions by Irish Water. Sections 60 to 73 focus on the powers of Irish Water to take a public abstraction, provisions for objections to those abstractions, a decision process for An Bord Pleanála on objections, and provisions to address claims for compensation. These provisions for compensation are likely to be used where a person feels that his or her rights in respect of water would be materially adversely affected by a public abstraction by Irish Water.

Sections 74 to 82 set out the provisions for Irish Water to undertake temporary abstractions to supplement or replace existing abstractions on a short-term basis. This may arise in the event of a severe drought, an infrastructural failure or a contamination of the raw water source. These temporary abstractions are confined to eight weeks duration, with the possibility of a single eight-week extension being granted. Section 80 provides for the Minister to make an order, or not, to exempt a temporary abstraction from the licensing requirements in emergency circumstances. Any such order would only be considered on the basis of a civil emergency where the abstraction was for the sole purpose of responding to the emergency. As with other temporary abstractions, the same eight-week time limit applies to an emergency abstraction under section 80. Section 82 provides for appeals and compensation related to Irish Water temporary or emergency abstractions.

Section 83 puts a framework around Irish Water abstractions from ESB reservoirs, with a particular focus on ensuring legal agreements are in place between the parties before an abstraction licence can be granted.

Part 7 relates to Waterways Ireland and its statutory functions and to abstractions from navigable waters and canals. This Part ensures that Waterways Ireland has significant input into EPA assessments of abstractions from navigable waters operated by Waterways Ireland. It also provides that any licensed abstraction from a canal can only be undertaken with the agreement of Waterways Ireland.

Part 8 is a short Part with just one section. It addresses the operation and safety of hydroelectric schemes and provides that the EPA shall have regard to the functions of the ESB when considering an application for an abstraction licence associated with a hydroelectric scheme.

Part 9 contains the principal enforcement provisions of the Bill. Sections 88 to 96 set out the enforcement functions of local authorities and the EPA, including their powers to appoint authorised persons to undertake enforcement actions.

Sections 97 to 102 provide for the issuing of compliance notices and the requirements on those that receive a compliance notice. These notices can be issued by either the local authority or the EPA for a number of different offences, including abstracting water without a valid licence or breaching the conditions of an existing licence. The notices can also require the owner of the abstraction to take measures to protect the environment and-or to meet the environmental objectives of the water body concerned.

Sections 104 to 109 further set out the offences throughout the Bill, the powers of prosecution and the penalties associated with a conviction for an offence.

Part 10 contains just four sections that relate to miscellaneous and transitional provisions. The transitional provisions are in place to ensure the integrity of the legal framework following commencement of the Bill and the repeal of the Water Supplies Act 1942, certain provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 and the 2018 abstraction registration regulations.

Part 11 contains three sections that set out the required amendments to the Canals Act 1986, the Shannon Navigation Act 1990 and the Planning and Development Act 2000. The most substantial of these is section 116, which amends the Planning and Development Act. The amendments insert references to water abstractions and the need for consultation in certain circumstances between planning authorities and the EPA, including on EIAs.

The Schedule lists the public bodies referred to in the Bill.

I thank the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the detailed pre-legislative scrutiny that was afforded to the general scheme of the Bill in October 2020 and its subsequent report in January 2021. I am glad to say that the recommendations set out in the committee's report played an important role in the development of the policy underlying this Bill. I look forward to Deputies' contributions as we progress the Bill through the parliamentary process.

See this speech in context