Molaim don Teach seo na leasaithe a rinne Dáil Éireann sa Bhille seo le déanaí. I commend, for the approval of this House, the 32 Amendments recently made to the Bill by Dáil Éireann.
The Bill was amended and passed by Seanad Éireann in October 2000. It is an important Bill. It copperfastens practices for heritage protection and public consultation in the context of Dumping at Sea Permits and, as a consequence of recommendations made in this House, requires the publication of application and permit details on the WEBSITE of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources at www.dcmnr.gov.ie. This has been done since 1 January 2001 in anticipation of enactment of the Bill.
The opportunity had to be taken to amend the Bill in Dáil Éireann, to give effect to a number of policy developments and also to give effect to changes, since 2000, in the titles and functions of certain Ministers who are involved in the administration of the Dumping at Sea Act 1996. More importantly, the Bill addresses concerns about the transparency of the application and permitting process and the text of what is now section 5 of the Bill incorporates 13 Dáil amendments for that purpose.
I commend the efforts of my predecessor, Mr. John Browne T.D., in piloting the Bill through the Dáil, and for sponsoring many of the improvements to it currently under consideration by the members of this House.
Amendments No. 5 and 8 deal with those policy developments and I shall now deal with each of them in turn.
Amendment No. 5 closes a gap in section 2 of the Dumping at Sea Act 1996 for deterrence purposes. It includes persons who hire vessels or aircraft, which are involved in offences under that Act, among the persons chargeable with such offences. The owner of the vessel or aircraft concerned, and the person in charge thereof at the time of the offence, are already chargeable with those offences as the law stands.
Amendment No. 8 comprises 3 paragraphs, (d), (e) and (f), to be substituted for paragraph (d) in lines 5 to 7 on page 4 of the Bill as passed by Seanad Éireann:
Paragraph (d) updates references to certain Ministers in the Dumping at Sea Act 1996 to reflect changes since then in the titles and functions of the various Ministers who are involved in the administration of that Act.
Paragraph (e) empowers the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to make Regulations for the charging of application fees for Dumping at Sea Permits and fees for applications for amendment of such permits.
Such Regulations would provide flexibility for charging different fees for different categories of application and different circumstances thereof for example, material from maintenance dredging in ports and harbours, or seabed material from development works in ports or harbours, etc., and other material arising which is suitable for dumping at sea under permits, so as to reflect better the administrative costs of dealing with such applications. The current standard fee (€63.49 or £50) which was set in 1995, only yields about €2000 per annum and must, clearly, be reviewed in the light of the administrative costs involved in processing applications, and other relevant factors.
Paragraph (f) of Amendment No. 8 makes it clear that the information and other requirements stipulated in respect of applications for Dumping at Sea Permits apply also to applications for amendment of any such Permits.
As I already mentioned, Dáil Éireann made 13 substantive amendments to what is now section 5 of the Bill, dealing with applications for Dumping at Sea Permits. Those are Amendments No. 10 to 22 and comprise four distinct groups. They are intended to enhance substantially the transparency of the application and permitting process, and address concerns expressed by Deputies Broughan, Coveney and Eamon Ryan, in particular, whose contributions I readily acknowledge.
Firstly, Amendments No. 10, 11,12 and 13 relate to subsection (2) of section 5. They impose additional requirements to be met in public notices of applications for Dumping at Sea Permits, namely, the inclusion of a user-friendly brief sketch map of the site or sites concerned, details of the nature and quantity of the material or substance to be dredged or disposed of at sea, and details of the dredging and dumping methods proposed. These new requirements have already been fully implemented, with good results, by Shannon Foynes, Cork and Drogheda Port Companies, and by Louth County Council.
Secondly, Amendments No. 14, 15, 16, 18,19 and 20 relate to subsections (3) and (6) of section 5. Amendments No. 14 and 18 require publication in a national newspaper of notice of urgent dredging required for purposes of navigational safety, while Amendments No. 15 and 19 require the public notice to give the reason or reasons for the urgency advanced by the Permit applicant.
Amendment No. 16, to subsection (3), extends from 21 days to 1 month the period within which the public may make a submission or observations on applications for Dumping at Sea Permits which do not relate to routine maintenance dredging over a period of not more than 12 months (e.g. multi-annual maintenance dredging proposals, proposals to improve or create navigable channels or proposals for new dumping sites, etc). A 1 month consultation period applies to Foreshore Acts applications requiring an Environmental Impact Statement, including those relating to port improvements involving dredging, etc.
Amendment No. 20, to subsection (6), puts the onus on applicants for Dumping at Sea Permits to respond to any submissions or observations from the public within 21 days after receiving a copy thereof, or risk having their applications considered by the Minister at the end of the 21 day period in the absence of their response.
Thirdly, Amendment No. 17, relating to subsection (5) of section 5 of the Bill, was sponsored by Deputy Broughan. It obliges the Minister within 10 working days after the end of the public consultation period to forward to the Permit applicant for comment a copy of any submissions or observations received from the public in relation to that application. The original Bill did not impose a timelimit for so doing.
Fourthly, Amendments No. 21 and 22 relate to subsection (7) of section 5. They ensure that the Department's website also contains a copy of the required public notice of all permit applications, and applicants comments on observations or submissions from the public, as from 1 August 2004, as well as details of decisions on Permit applications or to amend or revoke Permits as from 1 January 2004. This copperfastens transparency arrangements by clearly linking Permit applications and decisions, and recording any amendments to or revocations of Permits, so that interested parties are kept au fait. Details of Permits granted are available on the Department's website as part-and-parcel of the accessible statutory register.
Amendment No. 24 updates section 10 of the Dumping at Sea Act 1996 in step with general updating of fines for summary offences, so as to maintain deterrence effects. It updates the current maximum fine (£1500 or €1904.61) which may be imposed by the Court for summary offences under the Dumping at Sea Act 1996, to the current maximum imposable for summary offences generally, namely, €3000. Dáil Éireann deleted the original provision in the 1996 Act for a term of imprisonment to be imposed by the court in lieu of or in addition to a fine for a summary offence.
The 1996 Act leaves it to the discretion of the Court what monetary penalty, if any, to apply in the case of persons convicted on indictment under the Act in lieu of, or in addition to, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years.
It has not been found necessary to take court proceedings under the 1996 Act, a testimony to its effectiveness.
Amendment No. 26, sponsored by Deputy Coveney, includes the likely impact on fish spawning and nursery habitats among the important matters to be considered when applications for Dumping at Sea Permits are being assessed by the Department and its scientific advisors.
Amendment No. 27 is designed to protect biological diversity in the context of the National Biodiversity Plan approved by Government in 2002. The definition of biological diversity is modelled on that in section 9 (b) of the Wildlife Amendment Act 2000 (No 38).
Amendment No. 28, sponsored by Deputy Coveney, specifically requires the results of the National Seabed Survey undertaken by the Geological Survey of Ireland - which is part of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources - to be taken into account in the assessment of applications to dispose of dredging material at sea.
Amendment No. 29 deletes the exemption from the prohibition on disposal at sea for fish wastes from industrial fish processing operations, which is contained in paragraph (d) in Article 3 in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to the Dumping at Sea Act 1996.
The deletion of the exemption is required to take account of EU legislation, designed to protect animal and fish health, which requires animal and fish wastes to be specifically treated before being disposed of, namely, in the case of fish waste, ensiling or composting. In other words, fish wastes from industrial fish processing operations must not be disposed of at sea and Amendment No. 29 so provides.
Amendment No. 30 repeals provisions relating to prosecutions under the Sea Pollution Act 1991. The appropriate place for such provisions is in the body of the Sea Pollution Acts and that is being arranged.
Amendments No. 4, 7, and 23 merely reflect changes, since the Bill was passed by Seanad Éireann in 2000, in the titles and functions of the various Ministers involved in the administration of the Dumping at Sea Act 1996.
Amendments No. 1, 6, 9 and 25 are merely stylistic drafting amendments, substituting references to the Principal Act for references to the Dumping at Sea Act 1996, while Amendments No. 2, 3 and 31 are simply consequential to them.
Amendment No. 32 deletes unnecessary words in the original Long Title of the Bill.
In conclusion, I wish to put on the record of this House that, in exercising the Dumping at Sea Acts functions delegated to me by the Government, I will insist on the fullest examination of alternatives to the disposal of material at sea, and allow disposal at sea only where there is no alternative and where the material in question is adjudged on scientific advice to be suitable for disposal at sea. I will also ensure that material is disposed of at sea in both an appropriate location and in an appropriate manner. Senators will no doubt be glad to note the reclamation of over 28 acres of land at Killybegs Fishery Harbour Centre by use of dredged material. Further such opportunities will be availed of at Port Oriel, Clogherhead, and at Castletownbere Fishery Harbour Centre and elsewhere where major developments are planned.
I also confirm, for the record, that any Permit granted under the Dumping at Sea Act is subject to review by me at any time and I will not hesitate to amend or revoke a Permit if I should have any cause to do so, as that Act specifically empowers me to do.
Senators should note that, at my Departments insistence, 5-Year Dredging and Dumping plans for Ports are being prepared and will be published as part of the necessary consultation with the public and statutory consultees in relation to Dumping at Sea Permit applications by the Ports in question. Already, 5-Year Dredging and Dumping Permits have been granted to the Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Waterford and, most recently, Shannon Foynes Port Companies. Other major Ports will be encouraged to follow suit as soon as possible.
The preparation, publication and updating of such 5-Year Plans makes sound business sense, as well as appropriately informing the public of proposed significant activities on State-owned foreshore which could be of particular interest to them. More importantly, such 5-Year Plans allow timely and full consideration of alternatives to disposal at sea, notably beach nourishment and land reclamation.
Following the granting of a Dumping at Sea Permit for a period of up to 5 years, covering several dredging and dumping operations as detailed in the Ports 5-Year Plan, it will suffice for the Port in question to publish a notice of intention to dredge and dump within specific areas as needs arise. Such a notice of specific dredging and dumping is a timely reminder, to any persons who may be affected, so as to allow the approved and necessary dredging and dumping operations to go ahead without interference or delay.
I return again to this Bill. This Bill strengthens substantially the Dumping at Sea Act 1996 so as to ensure the continuance of a robust statutory framework for protecting important marine heritage as well as the marine environment generally. I am therefore fully committed to operating the Act as amended by this Bill, and to the ongoing enhancement of the Departments website in relation to the application and permitting process, for the benefit of all concerned.
Following enactment of this Bill, I will be arranging with the Attorney General for the early publication of a formal Restatement of the 1996 Act as amended by this Bill, so that any interested person can readily access the up-to-date law in the matter.
Go raibh maith agaibh.