Environmental Impact Assessments

Thursday, 2 October 2025

Ceisteanna (219)

Pa Daly

Ceist:

219. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment regarding the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025, the safeguards in place to prevent misuse of environmental impact assessments; the mechanisms to ensure meaningful public participation in emergency or exempted cases; the way in which the Environmental Protection Agency will be held accountable if statutory timeframes are missed; if he will clarify the definition and scope of 'emergency applications'; the way in which partial licence reviews will be monitored to prevent regulatory loopholes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52673/25]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment (Deputy Darragh O'Brien)

The Environmental (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 was published on 18 August and both a copy of the Bill and an Explanatory Memorandum are available to view at www.oireachtas.ie.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) emergency provisions transpose the derogations provided under Articles 1(3) and 2(4) of the EIA Directive. The Bill also takes account of our obligations to provide for public participation in emergency circumstances in accordance with the Industrial Emissions Directive and the Aarhus Convention. Furthermore, the Bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency to set out in its Annual Report details of the number of decisions made by the Agency within the timeframes that will be prescribed. Limited licence reviews can only be considered by the Agency where an EIA is not required for the change proposed and in the case of Industrial Emissions (IE) licences, does not constitute a substantial change as defined in the IE Directive and in the Bill. Applications which are not subject to a proposed determination or which may avail of a derogation under the EIA Directive are set out in sections 10 and 11 of the Bill.