Results 6,121-6,140 of 34,779 for speaker:Seán Fleming

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Some of this cannot be done at local authority level. That is why we have the river basin catchment areas.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: The rivers Barrow, Nore and Suir cover half of south Leinster. What happens in Laois affects what happens in Kilkenny and Waterford so it is not a function that is specific to a local authority. Rivers flow thorough various local authorities and that is the whole purpose of regional plans. The regional basis was more holistic. They can do what they like in Waterford, but if they are...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Yes, but those downstream are affected by whatever happens further upstream. I am a fan of the catchment areas because they include the full context of the entire river basin rather than a local authority point of view.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: I ask Ms Burke to provide a note. The environmental noise directive refers to mapping noise from major roads, something the local authorities are starting to do. Local authorities have surveys out in areas where the roads are noisy. We all know the lovely soft sound one hears when driving in Newland's Cross unlike the noise a mile further along the road when the road surface changes to...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: I am only talking about noise.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Ms Burke is correct. We hear that the guidelines are being finalised. At first no environmental impact assessment of the policy was done because the Department did not know it should do that. That set back progress by a year. The EPA raised some other issues last year which the Department should have foreseen and that set things back another year. The technical information the EPA...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: When was that?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: I take it Mr. Ó Cinnéide served two five-year terms, whereas Ms Burke is serving seven-year terms.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Ms Burke might send the committee the current board membership in correspondence. I am sure she could call it out off the top of her head.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Yes, for the sake of completeness. The list we have in front us is a little bit old. There is no issue with that. It is good that the EPA has an advisory board. I have a suggestion that might be more for the Department than the EPA. There might be a cost but an advisory board would benefit from having some people from outside the State on it. The advisory board seems to be comprised...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Does Mr Burke understand where I am coming from on that?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: The point is taken. On page 69, there is mention of legal fees of more than €1 million. The cost of legal advice, including financial provision of licence activity, amounted to €561,000. Legal fees and legal proceedings amounted to €440,000. Legal fees seem to account for a big chunk of what I will call the EPA's discretionary spending when salaries, pension...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Page 81 contains a note to the accounts, under revenue, that refers to the emissions trading unit. Ms Burke might send the committee a more expanded note on that. Have fines been issued in relation to the amount of money that came in or whatever-----

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: -----together with the costs. I think the EPA would get refunded for its administration of that.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: Ms Burke might send a detailed note on the emissions trading unit and the level of activity and fines that might have gone through there. I have one or two other minor issues. I saw somewhere in the note that the EPA has a role in strategic environment assessments on major developments.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: What is that role? What is a major development?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: These are not detailed planning applications.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: It is at a policy level.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Seán Fleming: When Ms Burke referred to "major development" I wondered if there was a certain category of strategic infrastructure that the EPA would examine.