I propose to take Questions Nos. 585 to 589, inclusive, 592 and 625 together.
Article 11 of the Water Framework Directive requires Member States to implement controls over the abstraction of fresh surface water and groundwater and over the impoundment of surface waters, including a register of abstractions and a system of prior authorisation for abstraction and impoundment. Proposals for legislation to implement these requirements will be developed later this year on completion of a comprehensive consultation process that will commence in the coming months. Ireland, generally, has abundant natural water resources and the Directive includes provision for Member States to exempt from control, abstractions or impoundments which have no significant impact on water status.
The European Communities (Drinking Water) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 are the main statutory instrument for the protection of drinking water. These Regulations,inter alia:
set out a range of chemical, microbiological and indicator parameters which must be complied with by drinking water suppliers;
provide that suppliers of drinking water ensure that the water supplied is wholesome and clean; and
provide for direct intervention by supervisory authorities, if necessary, to ensure compliance with their directions.
The proposed legislation referred to above will also introduce additional protections for drinking water sources.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an advice note on Source Protection and Catchment Management to protect Groundwater Supplies in August 2011. This note provides an outline of the key groundwater protection policies, guidance and related legislation that water services authorities should have regard to when developing measures to protect groundwater used for drinking water. Groundwater Protection Plans have been prepared on a county by county basis by the Geological Survey of Ireland for most local authorities; there are four Groundwater Protection Plans outstanding but these will be completed by the end of this year. These plans are incorporated by local authorities into County Development Plans and are used to assist in the assessment of the potential impact of development on groundwater.
The EPA is responsible for carrying out Ireland's national groundwater monitoring programme. The programme consists of a network of some 350 monitoring points. The network has been designed to be representative of the variations in hydrogeology and anthropogenic pressures across a groundwater body and is subject to ongoing review as circumstances change. Threshold values for mandatory substances under the Priority and Dangerous Substances Directives have been established in the European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations 2010 and they apply to all groundwater bodies nationally. In relation to the specific areas mentioned in the question, I understand the EPA will be involved in commissioning a scientific study into hydraulic fracturing which will include baseline monitoring of groundwater in relevant areas. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the EPA are developing the scope for this study. The European Communities Environmental Objectives (Groundwater) Regulations 2010 transpose key elements of the Water Framework Directive and the Groundwater Directive and establish clear environmental objectives to be achieved in groundwater bodies.
In accordance with the Groundwater Regulations, public authorities including the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, insofar as their functions allow, must, inter alia, take all reasonable steps to prevent or limit the input of pollutants into groundwater and prevent the deterioration of the status of all groundwater bodies. The Regulations prohibit the direct discharge of any pollutants into groundwater. Certain categories of discharges may be permitted subject to a requirement for prior authorisation provided such discharges, and the conditions imposed, do not compromise the achievement of the environmental objectives established for the body of groundwater into which the discharge is made.
Discharge authorisations are required by the Regulations to prohibit the input of hazardous substances and limit the input of non-hazardous substances into groundwater. The EPA is responsible for identifying and publishing a list of pollutants which it considers to be hazardous or non-hazardous based on technical criteria. This list was first published in December 2010 as part of the report Classification of Hazardous and non-Hazardous Substances in Groundwater and is available to download from the EPA website. The list is periodically reviewed by the EPA where it considers this to be necessary for the purpose of protecting groundwater.
As regards the construction and use of pit storage sites and the regulation of and standards for the operation of well-heads, overall responsibility for policy and regulation of hydraulic fracturing is a matter for the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The Minister is committed to obtaining further and more detailed scientific advice on hydraulic fracturing. I understand that until the results of the study to be commissioned by the EPA are available and have been considered, he will not make any decision on any application proposing the use of hydraulic fracturing.