Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 July 2023
118. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether a local authority requires a licence or permit to undertake noisy construction work during certain hours; the prescribed hours this would be required for; and the process by which they apply for, and members of the public can see, such a licence. [33063/23]
View answerLegislative provisions governing “local authority own development”, commonly referred to as Part 8 development, are set down in Section 179 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and Part 8 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended.Pursuant to these provisions, a local authority is required to give public notice of certain proposed developments in an approved newspaper and to place a site notice on the relevant land.The public notice is required to indicate that plans and particulars of the proposed development will be available for inspection or purchase at the offices of the local authority and that submissions or observations may be made in writing to the local authority before a specified date.The planned hours of construction and associated noise levels may be specified in the plans and particulars of the proposed development, such as a construction management plan, or in instances where the proposal has been referred to the Health Service Executive under Article 82 of the Regulations, may be addressed in any submission made by the HSE to the local authority.Under section 179(3) of the Act, the Chief Executive of the local authority is required to submit a report on the proposed development, taking account of submissions received, for consideration by the elected members of the Council and recommend whether or not the proposed development should be proceeded with as proposed, modified, or not be proceeded with, as the case may be.Following the consideration of the Chief Executive’s report, the proposed development may be carried out as recommended, unless the local authority, by resolution, decides to vary or modify the development, otherwise than as recommended, or decides not to proceed with the development.Notwithstanding the foregoing, construction sites, by their nature, can be noisy environments. The level of noise generated can vary depending on the relevant phase of development and any noise mitigation measures in place. Generally, any impact is short-lived; however, contractors do bear a responsibility to operate reasonably and not to cause nuisance. This may include operating at unreasonable hours.I would encourage any party impacted by noise from local authority development to discuss the matter with the local authority and/or contractor concerned in the first instance. Where agreement cannot be reached, civil remedies may be available to prevent or limit noise disturbance.The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is under the aegis of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC), operates the Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Framework and details can be found at the following link:www.epa.ie/our-services/compliance--enforcement/support-and-supervision-of-local-councils/la-performance/.The EPA has a supervisory role in relation to the performance by local authorities of their statutory environmental protection duties including in relation to air and noise controls. In addition, policy in relation to air quality, noise and industrial emissions falls under my colleague, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications.Where an individual is of the opinion that the relevant local authority is not addressing any environmental issues raised, the EPA provides information on complaints procedures at: www.epa.ie/our-services/compliance--enforcement/whats-happening/make-an-environmental-complaint/.Where the EPA receives a complaint in this regard, it is a matter for the EPA to determine whether the local authority is fulfilling its environmental functions.Under section 30 of the Act, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case, including an enforcement issue, with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned.
