Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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258. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the reason he has not yet appointed a new advisory committee to the Environmental Protection Agency; when he intends to appoint the committee; if he is aware of the many concerns regarding the absence of a new committee being appointed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27932/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Sections 27 and 28 of the Environmental Protection Act 1992, as amended, provide for the establishment of an Advisory Committee to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is chaired by the Director General of the EPA and includes eleven other members.  The Advisory Committee has a range of advisory functions under the EPA Act, including making recommendations to the EPA, or the Minister, relating to the Agency's functions. Following the merger of the ‘TheRadiological Protection Institute of Ireland’with ‘The Environmental Protection Agency’in August 2014, amendments were made to the sections 27 and 28 of the EPA Act, 1992 governing the Advisory Committee, to also provide specifically for radiological protection expertise.

The term of office of the 6th EPA Advisory Committee expired on 26 February 2016. Nominations for the 7th Advisory Committee were invited from the five nominating panels, as per the Environmental Protection Agency (Advisory Committee) Regulations 2015 (S.I. No 613 of 2015).

In accordance with Section 27 (6)(a) of the EPA Act, the Minister is required to appoint 7 members in total from the five nominating panels, with at least one member from eachpanel. The Minister is also required to select the remaining four members of the Committee, and in so doing to comply with Government policy on gender balance, so at least 4 of the 11 members should be female.

As specified in Section 27 (5) of the EPA Act valid nominations were received under each of the five nominating panels who represent the following interests

- Organisations representative of persons whose professions and occupations relate to environmental protection or radiological protection;

- Organisations concerned with environmental protection or radiological protection;

- Organisations concerned with the promotion of economic or other development

- Organisations concerned with the promotion of, in relation to community, of social, economic or general interests

- Organisations which in his opinion are representative of persons concerned with education or research relating to environmental matters or radiological protection .

Separate to the statutory call to the prescribed bodies for nominees a notice was also placed on the Department’s website requesting expressions of interest from members of the public interested in being considered for appointment to the Advisory Committee.

These applications have been collated and work is ongoing in my Department to finalise the selection process. I expect to be in a position to announce the membership of the Advisory Committee in the near future.