Vol. 520 No. 4
154 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if, following the meeting with representatives of the Irish Concrete Federation, he intends to compromise on section 237 of the Planning and Development Bill, 1999, particularly in respect of the application of retrospective planning on pre-1964 quarry developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15957/00]
The Planning and Development Bill, 1999, has been amended to include a new provision for the control of quarries over five years old. In accordance with section 251 of the Bill, as amended on Committee Stage, quarries which are in existence since before the coming into operation of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, in October 1964 must register with the planning authority and may be required to undergo environmental impact assessment and apply for planning permission. This will only apply to quarries where the planning authority considers that the continued operation of the quarry would be likely to have significant effects on the environment and therefore not all quarries which have been in existence since before October 1964 will have to apply for planning permission. Officials from my Department have had discussions with the Irish Concrete Federation regarding a number of aspects of section 251 of the Bill and I am considering bringing forward some amendments to the section for Report Stage arising from these discussions. However, I do not intend to change the requirement outlined above in relation to planning permission and environmental impact assessment.
