Written answers
Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Environmental Impact Assessments
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1990. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the breakdown of the number of screening applications that have been received and approved by county under EIA (Agriculture) Regulations since introduced in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30915/22]
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Please see attached table showing the breakdown for each county of EIA screening applications received and approved between the years 2011 and 2022 (year to date).
Since the introduction of the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations, my Department has worked to strengthen the checks being carried out on screening applications under the legislation to ensure a thorough examination of any potential environmental impacts that may arise from the proposed works. In addition, my officials will shortly commence a full review of the regulations and their implementation.
| County | 2011-2022 Applications Received | 2011-2022 Applications Approved |
|---|---|---|
| Carlow | 18 | 15 |
| Cavan | 22 | 19 |
| Clare | 20 | 9 |
| Cork | 123 | 95 |
| Donegal | 10 | 5 |
| Dublin | 9 | 9 |
| Galway | 52 | 27 |
| Kerry | 28 | 18 |
| Kildare | 23 | 22 |
| Kilkenny | 53 | 48 |
| Laois | 42 | 40 |
| Leitrim | 11 | 10 |
| Limerick | 12 | 8 |
| Longford | 4 | 4 |
| Louth | 15 | 13 |
| Mayo | 53 | 34 |
| Meath | 54 | 45 |
| Monaghan | 1 | 1 |
| Offaly | 38 | 31 |
| Roscommon | 13 | 11 |
| Sligo | 25 | 17 |
| Tipperary | 91 | 80 |
| Waterford | 46 | 42 |
| Westmeath | 29 | 23 |
| Wexford | 175 | 163 |
| Wicklow | 18 | 14 |
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1991. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when he intends to publish the decisions on screening assessments carried out under the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations since December 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30916/22]
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The register of EIA screening applications was updated in September of last year and covers applications received in 2020 as well as decisions made up until March 2021.
My Department intends to publish an update to cover more recent screening applications and decisions in the coming months. The link below can be used to access the latest EIA Screening Application/decisions on the Department’s website.
www.gov.ie/en/collection/91c1b-register-of-eia-screening-application-decisions/.
Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1992. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the reason that the decisions on screening assessments carried out under the EIA (Agriculture) Regulations are not published in a more timely manner given the requirements of both the EIA Directive and the Aarhus Convention for his decisions to be open to challenge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30917/22]
Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The register of EIA screening applications was updated in September 2021 to include applications received in 2020 and decisions made up until March 2021.
In order to meet our obligations under the Aarhus convention, to allow for increased public access to environmental information, my Department releases information on EIA screening applications and decisions on a regular basis under both the Access to Information on the Environment as well as the Freedom of Information legislation.
My officials will publish updated details regarding EIA screening applications and decisions in the coming months on the Department's website.
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