Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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1010. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department has had any consideration on bringing forward legislation concerning the introduction of silent fireworks to protect animal welfare and biodiversity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29519/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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All pyrotechnics in Europe, including fireworks, fall under the EU Pyrotechnic Directive 2013/29/EU.

This Directive aims to provide free movement of fireworks throughout the EU and under Article 4 it permits Member States to restrict the availability of Category F2 and Category F3 fireworks to the general public. However, it does not permit Member States to restrict the availability of fireworks of any category to “persons with specialist knowledge”.

Ireland has used this provision to restrict the sale or supply of Category F2 and F3 fireworks to only “persons with specialist knowledge”. The only legal fireworks used by members of the general public in Ireland are Category F1 fireworks which “present a very low hazard and negligible noise level”.

The professional pyrotechnic operators who use the louder Category F2, F3 and F4 fireworks conduct public displays at festivals and weddings. Before conducting a display, these professional pyrotechnic operators must conduct a risk assessment and consult with all interested local authorities such as the Fire Service, An Garda Síochána etc. as well as local residents as appropriate. The local authorities can prevent the display from taking place if their concerns regarding their areas of responsibility are not met.

As mentioned above the movement of fireworks can only be restricted on the basis of category or type. Currently there is no type of firework designated as a “silent firework” in either of the EU Standards EN 15947 or EN 16261.

The EU Commission are currently carrying out an evaluation of Directive 2013/29/EU to decide whether or not to carry out a full revision of this Directive. The outcome of this evaluation could be used to inform future decisions in relation to fireworks.