Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

This group deals with the changes to offences and penalty provisions. Penalty provisions under the Bill have been updated to align them with the latest drafting practice and a number of new offences have been created. I will outline the background and then deal with some of the offences in question.

Amendment No. 38 was inserted on the advice of the Attorney General to categorise the penalty provisions in the Bill in line with the latest drafting practice norms across environmental legislative codes. In tandem with this, amendment No. 56 inserted a new provision replacing the existing section 28, an assignment of additional functions which provides for the general authority to seek enforcement by High Court injunction against any person who is in breach of the Act and who is causing a risk to human health or the environment. The combination of the higher penalties and the recourse to court injunction is regarded by the Attorney General as a preferable enforcement regime to daily fines. Members will agree that this is a significant improvement over simple daily fines which, by their nature, would be relatively small.

Similar updating provisions were inserted into the Water Pollution Acts 1977 and 1990 and the water pollution-related provisions of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 by amendments to sections 107 and 108 of the Bill in amendments Nos. 226 and 227. These will bring penalty provisions in the water pollution and water services areas fully into line and ensure their alignment with penalties in the broader environmental code, something Senators will appreciate. Environmental crime must be dealt with severely.

Turning to the offence provisions, amendment No. 64 inserted an additional provision into section 30(7), designating it an offence not to comply with a compliance notice issued by the Minister against a water service authority which is not in compliance with prescribed performance standards or which is not carrying out its duties in a satisfactory manner. It is important that everybody abides by the law, including public authorities. Failure by a group water scheme, for example, to comply with the requirement of a supervising water services authority, is designated an offence under the licensing provisions in Part 6. I consider it appropriate that a similar failure of the water service authority to comply with a requirement of the supervisory authority, in this case, the Minister, should be similarly designated an offence. In other words, if it is an offence for a group water scheme to behave in one way, it should equally be an offence if a local authority misbehaves in like manner.

Amendment No. 65 inserted a new subsection 30(10) to designate as an offence the failure of any person from whom the Minister seeks information or data, as per section 30(4)(k), to provide such information. It is astonishing that as matters stand, the Minister has limited powers to direct or even to find information and this is intolerable.

Amendment No. 135 inserts additional subsections in section 56 relating to the conservation of water. It gives the Minister regulation-making powers concerning recycling of water, including storm and rainwater, and provides for the introduction of hosepipe bans and other restrictions designed to conserve water supplies during periods of drought, such as restrictions on the use of water for swimming pools, car washes, etc. A related regime of fixed penalty notices, or on-the-spot fines as they are commonly called, is introduced for those who breach such restrictions. This will ensure the proper controls are applied during times of water scarcity. At the moment, drought orders simply cannot be enforced, so we have an enforcement provision as well as an on-the-spot fine provision, which is prudent and sensible. I recommend all the amendments to the House.