Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 May 2004
209 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government Ireland’s progress in meeting the timetable on the EU Directive on assessment and management of environmental noise, commonly referred to as the mapping directive. [16101/04]
View answerDirective 2002/49/EC relates to the assessment and management of environmental noise and is due to be transposed into national law by 18 July 2004. The directive requires, inter alia, the making of strategic noise maps for all agglomerations with more than 250,000 inhabitants, all major roads with more than 6 million vehicle passages per year, major railways with more than 60,000 train passages per year and major airports with more than 50,000 take off or landing movements per year no later than 30 June 2007 and the drawing up of action plans to manage any ensuing noise issues and effects no later than 18 July 2008.
In a second phase, strategic noise maps and action plans are required to be completed by similar dates in 2012 and 2013, respectively, for agglomerations with between 100,000 and 250,000 inhabitants, major roads with between 3 and 6 million vehicle passages per year and major railways with between 30,000 and 60,000 train passages per year. My Department is in ongoing consultation with the relevant local and transport sector authorities on the directive's implementation in the context of preparing transposing regulations by the due date.
The regulations will provide the legal framework within which designated competent authorities will implement the various mapping and action planning requirements of the directive within the stipulated timeframe of 2007-13.
Dublin City Council, having to date published a noise map for the area between the boundaries of the Grand and Royal Canals linking land use, population density and traffic data, is proceeding to extend similar mapping to the city council boundaries. My Department wrote to all local and transport sector authorities in the greater Dublin region in February 2004 highlighting the city council's progress on noise mapping to date and requesting their consideration of a co-ordinated approach to fulfil the requirements of Directive 2002/49/EC.
