IRISH ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

These Regulations amend certain provisions of the Wildlife Act, 1976 , for the purpose of giving full effect to E.C. Council Directive of 2 April, 1979, on the conservation of wild birds. The Regulations strengthen the existing protection afforded under the Act to wild birds from unnecessary disruption caused by certain activities such as ornithology, agriculture, forestry, road construction, archaeology or building and engineering operations and make unlawful the sale of eggs taken from the wild or, save under very limited circumstances, the possession of eggs taken from the wild. The Regulations also provide that certain species of wild birds hitherto included in the Third Schedule to the Wildlife Act, 1976 , shall be removed from that Schedule. The effect of this provision is to declare these species to be protected species for purposes of the Act.

These Regulations give effect to part of the Council Directive of the European Communities of 20th March, 1985 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning the lead content of petrol. The Regulations, which come into operation on 1 April, 1986, prohibit the marketing in the State of petrol, the lead compound content of which, expressed as lead, exceeds 0.15 grammes per litre.

These Regulations provide for the reduction of the maximum permissible sulphur content of gas oil from 0.8% by weight to 0.5% by weight from 1st October, 1985. They amend the European Communities (Sulphur Content of Gas Oil) Regulations, 1977 which gave effect to the Council Directive of the European Communities of 24 November, 1975 (75/716/EEC) on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to the sulphur content of certain liquid fuels and which prohibited the marketing in the State of gas oil, the sulphur content of which, expressed as sulphur, exceeded 0.8% by weight.

These Regulations prescribe quality standards to be applied by local and sanitary authorities when licensing discharges of effluents containing cadmium to waters and to sewers under Sections 4 and 16 of the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 . The Regulations give effect to Council Directive No. 83/513/EEC of 26th September, 1983 (O.J. No. L291/1, 24th October, 1983) on cadmium discharges to the aquatic environment.

EEC Directive No. 74/409 on the Conservation of Wild Birds provides for the conservation of populations of wild birds by, among other things, classifying important ornithological sites as special protection areas for them. The effect of these Regulations is to classify four sites as special protection areas and to provide that contravention of the provisions of these Regulations shall constitute an offence.

These regulations require the Mid-Western Health Board to arrange for the fluoridation of the South West Regional, Adare, Askeaton, Murroe and Newcastle West piped water supplies in addition to the public piped water supplies specified in the 1965 regulations, and require Limerick County Council, acting as agents for the Mid-Western Health Board to fluoridate the South-West Regional, Adare, Askeaton, Murroe and Newcastle West public piped water supplies.

These Regulations deal with air pollution caused by the extraction or recovery of certain metals from scrap metal, waste material and waste cable. The Regulations establish a licensing system to be operated by sanitary authorities for any trade, works or process in which burning or the application of heat is used to extract or recover such metals.

These Regulations provide for a new scale of fees payable to An Bord Pleanála in respect of appeals, submissions or observations and requests for oral hearings in relation to licences under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 .

The Regulations also prescribe the fee payable to local or sanitary authorities for a copy of an entry in the register of licences, or the register of abstractions from waters.

The Regulations revoke the Local Government (Water Pollution) Regulations, 1983, which dealt with these matters.