Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As so often happens, I sympathise with the sentiments, but what the Senator is proposing is a fundamental change to the planning and development Acts which would impact all planning applications and appeals generally. The noise assessment process set out in this Bill has been heavily interlinked with existing planning legislation, as it needs to be, but does not fundamentally change existing planning process and procedures which are tried and tested. Where a planning application is made for development, the airport noise regulator will review the application to decide if it has a significant noise impact. Where it decides that it does, it will carry out a detailed noise assessment. As part of this there will be a 14-week public consultation period. There is no fee involved for participation in this public consultation. I have specifically provided that to enable free and open participation by individuals and community groups. This consultation will be supported by the free and open publication of all relevant documentation, including non-technical summaries of any technical analysis.

I appreciate the points made on this issue by Senators Norris and Humphreys and I know it comes from genuine concern to ensure that the residents are fully heard on this. They will be. However, the planning process is the same across the country for the entire public. This legislation is not being put in place to change the fundamentals of the planning process. Rather we are ensuring that the noise assessment process is fully integrated with the existing planning processes to ensure that the noise regulator has input into major developments at the airport.

As I mentioned earlier, extensive public consultation is provided for in that process and there is no cost involved. Consultation with any member of the public and community groups will be informed by a report prepared by the noise regulator. This report will include the data examined, the measures considered and the proposed noise mitigation measures. Importantly, I have provided that a non-technical summary will accompany each report. This will make it clear to any person wishing to participate as to how the proposed measures came about and the reasoning for their inclusion in a draft decision.