Matt Brennan
Question:33 Mr. M. Brennan asked the Minister for the Environment if he has satisfied himself with the charges applying to companies for integrated pollution control licences. [3345/96]
Written Answers. - Pollution Control Policy.
It has been the stated policy of Government, since announcing the intention to establish the Environmental Protection Agency, that the agency's integrated pollution control licensing function should operate on a self-financing basis. The fees provided for under the Environmental Protection Agency (Licensing Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 1995, and approved by the Ministers for Finance and Enterprise and Employment, are designed to recover the costs to the agency of processing applications for licences, reviews of licences or revised licences; they also reflect the need to maintain equity between different classes of licensable activity and to avoid placing an undue burden on small-scale enterprises. I am satisfied that these objectives are currently being met. The regulations also enable the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce, refund or waive fees in certain cases.
The integrated pollution control licensing system has been in operation since May 1994. In the light of the progressive expansion of the licensing system and the experience gained by the Environmental Protection Agency, I intend to keep the level of application fees under review in terms of both self-financing and equity objectives.
Annual compliance monitoring fees for activities licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency are a matter for the agency to determine on the basis of its costs, and to recover directly from the licensed activities. All licensing fees payable to the EFA are subject to independent audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General so as to ensure, inter alia, that the self-financing objective is fully and fairly achieved.