Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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53. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the steps he is taking to fulfil the Programme for Government commitment to develop a regional approach to air quality and noise enforcement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25158/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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My Department has commenced discussions with the County and City Management Association, and other key stakeholders with a view to developing a regional approach to air quality and noise enforcement, in order to bring greater consistency and coordination to tackling the most pressing enforcement challenges. In order to progress these discussions further, I am establishing an Air and Noise Enforcement Working Group to include the various regulatory stakeholders, experienced Local Authority enforcement practitioners and representatives from existing shared service offices. The purpose of this Group is to determine the most effective enforcement approach, and to make their recommendations to my Department within the next six months.

Such a time-line is necessary given the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency report on Local Authority environmental enforcement activities for 2019 which was published recently. This report recommends that a regional approach to enforcement be adopted, and that the resources being allocated by Local Authorities to these areas be reviewed. The report also highlights a significant reduction in the level of enforcement reported and the need for Local Authorities to develop additional expertise in monitoring and investigations.

My Department has demonstrated its commitment to supporting Local Authorities in improving their level of performance in fulfilling their statutory obligations across a range of environmental areas. Our shared objective is the establishment of dedicated resources, within regional lead authorities, that will provide a robust enforcement regime that focuses greatest effort on the enforcement issues that matter most. I look forward to significant progress being made to fulfilling this commitment in the coming months.