Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In relation to proposed amendment No. 22, section 33(6) provides for the publishing of screening determinations for environmental impact assessments, including publishing notices on the Department's website. I can explore with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, OPC, as to whether subsection (6) could be rephrased so as to make it clear that the publishing of notices on the Department's website is a mandatory requirement. I can assure the Senator, however, that this will be the case.

There are a range of reporting requirements set out under the Bill, including requirements relating to appropriate assessment. This ensures compliance with the Aarhus Convention and Article 6 of the EIA directive. The Department's website is considered to be the preferred medium for publishing these types of notices from both end-user and internal administration perspectives.

Amendment No. 23 relates to the addition of text to section 34(2). This section requires the Minister to cause an EIA to be carried out where works proposed as part of a licence application meet clearly specified criteria. The proposed amendment requires the Minister to have regard to the result of an EIA when determining a licence application. This amendment is not necessary as section 37(3) already provides that where an EIA has been carried out, the Minister must take account of the results or findings of the EIA when deciding whether to grant a licence.

To make a general point in relation to sections 32 to 39, inclusive, the text used for the Bill's EIA-related provisions has been carefully drafted by the OPC in order to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the transposition of the EIA directive and also to align the Bill with EIA-related provisions found in other enactments.

Amendment No. 24 suggests a minor alteration to section 34 in relation to the Minister's relevant opinion that must be given upon request by the licence applicant in advance of submitting an environmental impact assessment report. The relevant text, as set in section 34(6), matches that found under Article 5 of the EIA directive. It would not be advisable to stray from the governing EU legislation in this instance.

Under section 37, the Minister will be responsible for the carrying out of an EIA in relation to a relevant licence application. In this respect, I do not consider amendment No. 25 necessary as the delivery of the Minister's relevant opinion to an applicant could not impact on the applicant's obligations regarding the submission of a corresponding EIAR or, indeed, the Minister's carrying out of a subsequent EIA.

In relation to amendment No. 26, the removal of the text "the extent to which" from section 34(10) is not considered workable. Subsection (10) gives effect to paragraph 3(c) of Article 5 of the EIA directive allowing the Minister to indicate the information that should be contained in an EIAR by way of various qualitative criteria listed under Annex IV of the EIA directive, for example, descriptions of non-technical summaries.This is done in order that, If necessary, the Minister can request certain information from the applicant relating to the effects of the proposed works on the environment in order to help ensure the completeness and quality of the EIAR.

Finally, to move away from the proposed amendments momentarily, I wish to inform the Senator that upon reflecting on her previous comments regarding proposed monuments being solely of archaeological interest, I have instructed my officials to examine the possibility of broadening the criteria in order that "relevant things" of relevant interest other than archaeological interest may also be eligible to become prescribed monuments. If this is considered workable and provided there are no unforeseen issues arising from subsequent discussions with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government, OPC, I intend to introduce the necessary amendments to section 12 on Dáil Committee Stage.