Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

I refer to amendment No. 75 which requires environmental impact assessments for developments in respect of the impact they might have on human beings, flora and fauna, soil, water, air, climate, the landscape, material assets and cultural heritage, and the interaction between the factors mentioned in section 171A of the principal Act. I am aware of several circumstances where air quality in planning legislation is not properly regulated after planning has been granted. Let us suppose an activity is carried out as a result of which an odour or smell emanates. As part of the original planning application, odour assessments are required. Once the planning is granted, there is nothing in law to protect the environment or the human beings in that environment from that activity. I presume the Minister of State cannot address it in this Bill but I call on him to take into account. We must examine the law to ensure no enterprise or development impinges in a negative way on a given environment.

I refer to some examples. Local authority landfill operations are among the greatest offenders. Issues also arise whereby waste management operators work under licence. There is nothing in the licence or the planning laws to require waste management operators to keep the odours emanating from an enterprise to a certain level. My advice from local authority officials is that a change in legislation is required. The Minister of State may be unable to answer me today which I fully understand, but he should take this on board as a point of concern. The legislation must be strengthened in the area of odour control for the protection of the environment. There is strong regulation with regard to noise and physical waste. There is a weakness in the system. I can provide more detail to the Minister of State at a later stage in respect of odour control.

The Minister of State has engaged very positively with us today, which is welcome. While we may not always agree, it is important to hold robust debate, tease out the issues and come up with solutions. I appreciate the fact that the Minister of State and his officials have taken on board the issue of the two thirds majority requirement, removed it from the legislation and replaced it with a simply majority requirement. There are other areas where progress can be made over time if we engage in proper, focused and robust debate. I call on the Minister of State to consider these areas of concern related to odour control. It is not nice to live in an area where an enterprise has been granted planning permission and is producing an odour resulting in a significant negative effect on the people in the area. This remains a concern.