Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 58: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, with respect to each of the top tier Seveso establishments designated in accordance with the terms of EC COMAH Directive 96/82/EC, also known as Seveso 2, as implemented by SI 476 of 2000 and SI 600 of 2001, he will outline in tabular form the name and location of each such establishment, its designated consultation distance, the area of its consultation zone and the number of landowners whose properties are injuriously affected by each such designation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24342/04]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 59: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if, with respect to each of the lower tier Seveso establishments designated in accordance with the terms of EC COMAH Directive 96/82/EC, also known as Seveso 2, as implemented by SI 476 of 2000 and SI 600 of 2001, he will outline in tabular form the name and location of each such establishment, its designated consultation distance, the area of its consultation zone and the number of landowners whose properties are injuriously affected by each such designation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24343/04]

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 58 and 59 together.

The following table provides the list of establishments that have been notified to the Health and Safety Authority, HSA, as coming within the scope of the European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations 2000. It also indicates their tier status; 1 for upper tier, 2 for lower tier. A number in [ ] indicates an expected change in status arising from implementation of Directive 2003/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC on the control of major accident hazards involving dangerous substances. Finally, the associated consultation distances are provided including an indication as to whether generic area advice has been tendered.

To enable the proper implementation of the land-use planning provisions of the regulations, the authority provided planning authorities with a consultation distance for each establishment so that relevant planning applications will be addressed to the HSA for consultation. There is an ongoing programme of providing planning authorities with generic area advice so that there will not be a need to refer individual planning applications to the HSA in the future. As such advice is based on a detailed assessment of consequences and risks it is not possible to describe it in terms of a simple distance.

A consultation distance is not an exclusion zone, it is the zone within which the HSA judges it necessary for the provision of advice; such advice tendered by the HSA is based on a consideration of the proposed development and the nature of the hazards posed by the relevant establishments. The HSA does not have data on the areas enclosed within the consultation distances nor on the number of landowners whose properties are within or beside such areas. The regime of consultation distances is a necessary measure to enable Ireland to comply with the EU directives on major hazards with a view to ensuring future sensible and sustainable land-use development.