Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will investigate the cost involved to his Department and the health system in general following the European Environmental Agency findings against the ESB and a multi national alumina industry [57848/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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My Department has been advised by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, the Department with primary responsibility for matters relating to air quality, that all power plants in Ireland are subject to the licensing, monitoring and enforcement requirements of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) regime. Plants operating with an IPPC licence are monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that the terms of their licences are respected, including emission levels. My Department has also been informed that there has been no breach of IPPC licensing conditions by the ESB or other power plants and that monitoring undertaken by the EPA confirms that total emissions from such plants are consistently below the levels prescribed to ensure adequate protection of human health and the environment. In view of this I do not consider that an investigation along the lines suggested by the Deputy is necessary.