Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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332. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the competent authority for noise regulation at Weston Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39622/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Under the 2018 Environmental Noise regulations (which implement the EU Environmental Noise Directive), local authorities are responsible for the noise mapping of the area under their jurisdiction, and the creation of a noise action plan to tackle harmful environmental noise.

In the case of Weston Airport, I am informed that it has not been modelled as part of the South Dublin County Councils strategic noise modelling for the Dublin agglomeration, as it is not a major airport.

I have been advised that it is a policy of South Dublin County Council to discourage noise-sensitive developments such as nursing homes, schools, hospitals and conference centres in the immediate vicinity of Weston aerodrome.

For residential development and other noise vulnerable land uses, an appropriate noise assessment with accompanying mitigation measures to protect residential amenity would be requested when submitted to the planning authority.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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333. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of prosecutions that have taken place for breaches of noise regulations at regional and smaller airports since 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39623/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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Enforcement actions against breaches of noise nuisance regulation under Section 107 of the EPA Act 1992 are a matter for local authorities and the Office of Environmental Enforcement within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

I am informed that the EPA compiles comparative statistics on local authority performance relating to environmental enforcement activity under the Recommended Criteria for Environmental Inspection (RMCEI) process. The Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2023 is available on the EPA website. The reported figures for 2024 indicate no prosecutions related to airports.

Questions in relation to prosecutions taken by individual local authorities relating to enforcement activities should be directed towards those specific authorities.