Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1831: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he proposes to require communications companies or their agents who erect communications antenna, masts or aerials on roofs of upper portions of buildings in built up areas to formally communicate to the local authority the nature of the antenna, masts or aerial, the purpose for which it has been erected, the strength of the signal and any other technical information related to such apparatus in view of the fact that local authorities are not able to inform residents adjacent to such buildings where these masts are located as to the nature and content or composition of the signals being transmitted and have no idea as to what the environmental or medical impacts and side effects there may be; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1415/07]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In general, planning permission must be sought for the erection of an antenna support structure or mast. The Planning and Development Regulations 2001 set out certain exemptions in this area. These include, subject to certain conditions, works carried out by a statutory undertaker authorised to provide a telecommunications service comprising:

the attachment of additional antennae to an existing antenna support structure (subject to a maximum of 12 antennae),

the erection of an antenna support structure in place of an existing antenna support structure, and

the attachment of antennae to certain existing structures, such as lamp posts, flag poles, CCTV poles, electricity pylons and certain public or commercial buildings.

One of the conditions that a statutory undertaker must comply with in order to avail of any of the exemptions referred to above is that the field strength of the non-ionising radiation emissions from the site must not exceed the limits specified by the Commission for Communications Regulation.

In the case of the third exemption, that is the attachment of antennae to certain existing structures, there is a requirement on the statutory undertaker to notify the planning authority, in writing, of the proposed location of any such structure at least 4 weeks before the attachment of antennae to an existing structure.

The Commission for Communications Regulation is responsible for ensuring that telecommunications operators comply with their licence conditions relating to non-ionising radiation. It is also the function of the Commission to ensure that all operators are compliant with the international guidelines for general exposure to electromagnetic fields from telecommunications masts and antennae. Planning authorities have no function in this matter.

Under the standard licence conditions, a telecommunications operator, must notify the Commission for Communications Regulation of the location (including geographic coordinates) of new base stations. The locations of the sites are published by the Commission for Communications Regulation in map form for public viewing on the website http://www.askcomreg.ie/ mobile/ View