IRISH ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION

These Regulations have the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 737/2012 of 14 August 2012 on measures for the protection of certain Stocks in the Celtic Sea.

These Regulations amend the Aquaculture (Licence Application) Regulations 1998 ( S.I. No. 236 of 1998 ) to give further effect in Irish law to Articles 2 to 4 of Directive No. 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment insofar as it applies to certain aquaculture licence applications.

These Regulations transpose the provisions of Directive 2011/88/EU, which amends Directive 1997/68/EC relating to the measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery, inland waterway vessels, railcars and locomotives, and to secondary engines fitted into vehicles intended for passenger or goods transport on the road. The Regulations provide for an increase in the number of engines (other than engines in railcars, locomotives and inland waterway vessels) which can be placed on the market under the flexibility scheme from 20% to 37.5% during the transition from Stage IIIA to Stage IIIB. An optional alternative of placing a fixed number of engines on the market under the flexibility scheme is also provided under these Regulations. The Regulations further provide that an adapted, more limited version of the flexibility scheme under 1997/68/EC now applies to locomotive engines.

These Regulations prescribe the various organisations for the purposes of selecting candidates for consideration for appointment by the Minister as members of the Advisory Committee of the Environmental Protection Agency and deal with related matters.

S.I. No. 404/2012 European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Petroleum) Regulations 2012.

S.I. No. 403/2012 European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Gas) Regulations 2012.

The effect of this Order is to amend the Open Seasons list of huntable species of wild birds by removing the Curlew from the list.

Directive 2009/147/EC (O.J. L 20/7 of 26 January 2010) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 (úthe Birds Directiveù) on the conservation of wild birds provides for the conservation of wild birds by, among other things, classifying important ornithological sites as Special Protection Areas. The hyperlink http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/natura2000/sites_birds/index_en.htm which connects to the European Commission Environment (Nature and Biodiversity) website also contains a further link to the text of the Birds Directive. The effect of these Regulations is to designate a site as a Special Protection Area in accordance with Article 4 of the Directive. The geographical area of the Special Protection Area designated by these Regulations is defined by Schedule 1 (a map or maps of the area) and Schedule 2 (a list of the townlands in question / a description of the area). For more detailed maps than those contained in Schedule 1, or for greater detail on boundary delineation, contact should be made with the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht or by viewing the relevant text or map details on www.npws.ie. The bird species cited in Schedule 3 of these Regulations are specified, in accordance with the Directive, in order to ensure their survival and reproduction in their area of distribution. Under Article 5 of the Directive all species of birds are afforded protection from disturbance, capture and damage to nests and eggs, not just the birds listed on Schedule 3 (with the exception of those birds covered under Articles 7 for hunting and 9, where derogations are listed). Those operations or activities requiring the consent of the Minister listed at Schedule 4 to these Regulations are cited for their potential to cause disturbance or damage to the bird species and their habitats specified in Schedule 3 of these Regulations. Landowners or occupiers should contact the local National Parks and Wildlife Service office of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht before undertaking any of the works listed at Schedule 4. (See www.npws.ie for contact details). Please note that operations/activities other than those listed at Schedule 4 to these Regulations, such as effluent discharge, construction work, aquaculture, fishing or forestry require a licence or permission from the appropriate consent authority. These Regulations provide (Regulation 6) that contravention of the provisions of these Regulations shall constitute an offence. Regulation 6 also provides for penalties