Written Answers - Hazardous Substances.
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
71
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
the establishments here which come under EU Directives 82/501/EEC (Seveso I) and EU 96/82/EC (Seveso II) with the amounts and nature of dangerous substances involved at each location.
[11166/01]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
72
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
if she will indicate with whom consultation was carried out before the transposition of EU 96/82/EC (Seveso II) through S.I. No. 476 of 2000 (Control of Major Accidents Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances); and if she will list all such bodies or persons and the nature of their concerns.
[11167/01]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
73
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
if she has received any representations related to the transposition of EU 96/82/EC (Seveso II) through S.I. No. 476 of 2000 (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) on 21 December 2000; and if so, the sources and nature of such representations.
[11168/01]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
74
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
the further measures additional to S.I. No. 476 of 2000 (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) required to complete the transposition of EU 96/82/EC (Seveso II) into Irish law; and the timescale for the completion of the implementation of this directive.
[11169/01]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
75
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
if she will report on the implementation of S.I. No. 476 of 2000 (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) to date in general and with particular regard to the requirement for operators to report certain details to their local planning authorities within three months of the coming into force of the regulations.
[11170/01]
Joe Higgins
Ceist:
76
Mr. Higgins (Dublin West)
asked the
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment
the additional burden that the implementation of S.I. No. 476 of 2000 (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) has created; and the resources which have been sought to ensure the complete implementation within the timescales laid down.
[11171/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 to 76, inclusive, together.
The Health and Safety Authority, which comes under the auspices of my Department, is the central competent authority for the Seveso II directive. The authority has advised me that the Seveso II directive introduced a requirement, not present in the Seveso I directive, that all member states should ensure that the objectives of preventing major accidents, and limiting the consequences of such, are taken into account in their land use policies and-or other relevant policies through controls on establishments covered by the directive or a development in the vicinity of such an establishment.
Regulations entitled European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards Involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations, 2000 (S.I. No. 476 of 2000), which are necessary to implement the provisions of the directive, became law in December last year. The Health and Safety Authority's role is purely advisory and it is for the planning authority concerned to take the final decision in the development of an area within its jurisdiction following consideration by it of all material relevant to each application. The authority is independent in the carrying out of its functions in this area and I have no direct role in the matter. Detailed information regarding establishments in Ireland which come under the Seveso directive, and the amounts and nature of dangerous substances involved at each location, is information which is held by the authority. The Deputy may contact the authority directly for any specific information in this regard.
The Health and Safety Authority, which developed the proposals for regulations for the transposition of the directive in question, has informed me that it consulted with its Dangerous Substances Advisory Committee, established under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989. The advisory committee comprises representatives from the Departments of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Environment and Local Government and Public Enterprise, the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Irish Road Haulage Association, the Consumers' Association of Ireland, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the National Irish Safety Organisation, the Irish Pharmaceutical and Chemical Manufacturers' Federation, the Environmental Protection Agency, An Taisce, the Royal Irish Academy, the Irish Liquified Petroleum Gas Association and the Irish Petroleum Industry Association. During the drafting process of the regulations, separate consultations also took place with the various Departments centrally involved, namely, the Departments of the Environment and Local Government, Health and Children, Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Marine and Natural Resources as well as my own Department. Given the extensive nature of the consultation process, a range of issues of interest to the different parties would have been raised from time to time on different aspects of the directive. The draft text of the regulations was approved by the Dangerous Substances Advisory Committee and the board of the Health and Safety Authority.
My Department has received a number of representations since the Seveso II directive became applicable in Irish law. Representations have been received from public representatives on behalf of developers and others in the Passage West area of County Cork. Representations were also received from other interested parties in connection with the delay in, and other aspects of, the transposition of the directive.
The articles of the directive, for which my Department has responsibility through the Health and Safety Authority, have been implemented into Irish law under the European Communities (Control of Major Accident Hazards involving Dangerous Substances) Regulations, 2000. The authority, as the central competent authority, is obliged, when requested to do so by the relevant planning authorities, to give technical advice in relation to planning applications relating to sites covered by the directive or a development in the vicinity of such a site. Provisions relating to the land use planning aspects of the directive are contained in the Planning and Development Act, 2000, enacted by the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. I understand that supplementary regulations to underpin those aspects of the directive are being finalised by his Department.
I am informed by the Health and Safety Authority that implementation of the regulations made under the Seveso II directive is at an early stage. Notifications are now being assessed and in respect of "Top Tier" establishments, the authority is in the process of contacting those who have been or are due to be appointed as local competent authorities for the purposes of establishing off-site emergency plans. The authority is also in the process of contacting planning authorities in respect of the notifications received so as to enable the provision of technical advice in respect of developments at, or in the vicinity of, establishments subject to the regulations. In this regard there is also an obligation on establishments to contact the planning authorities.
The authority has informed me that it has also provided generic land use planning advice for Cork County Council for the Passage West area and for Mayo County Council in respect of the gas receiving station for the Corrib gas field.
The staffing of the authority in the specific area dealing with this issue was increased by seven in 2000 and a further two are being recruited. The particular area of the authority which deals with the Seveso directive has other responsibilities and the recent personnel recruited by the authority also perform other inspectorate duties.
