Aodhán Ó Ríordáin
Question:177. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications the regulatory limitations on the sulphide content of diesel, petrol and aircraft noise, respectively. [2716/23]
View answerTuesday, 24 January 2023
Questions (177)
Written answers
Regulatory limitations on the sulphur content of petrol and diesel are set by the Fuel Quality Directives (Directive 98/70/EC, as amended by Directive 2009/30/EC). These Directives were transposed into Irish law by the European Communities Act, 1972 (Environmental Specifications for Petrol, Diesel Fuels and Gas Oils for use by non-road mobile machinery, including waterway vessels, agricultural and forestry tractors, and recreational craft) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No 155 of 2011)
The sulphur content limit for both petrol and diesel is 10mg/kg.
The annual testing regime has shown no exceedances of the limit for sulphur for petrol detected since 2013, and no exceedances for diesel have been detected since 2014.
Aircraft noise is governed by legislation, including EU Regulation 598/2014 and the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act, 2019. These do not set limits in terms of decibels but instead recognise that the sustainable development of air transport should be balanced with the introduction of measures aimed at reducing the noise impact from aircraft to maintain or increase the quality of life of neighbouring citizens. This should be done, in accordance with the Balanced Approach developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).