Basic HTML Version
Ireland’s Environment 2012
6
Environmental policy and legislation
in Ireland continue to be driven by
European and global developments.
A brief synopsis of the main policy
and legislative developments in Ireland
in recent years is provided below,
with more detailed information
given in the thematic assessments
in Section 2 of this report.
Climate Change
The EU has taken a lead role in
global environmental negotiations,
especially in the area of climate
change. This has resulted in Member
States being committed to legally
binding targets for greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions. In November 2011,
the Department of Environment,
Community and Local Government
(DECLG) published a Review of
National Climate Policy in order
to develop the necessary mix to
support a national mitigation
agenda. This will be based on a
public consultation, an independent
study to be carried out by the NESC
(National Economic and Social
Council) and sectoral mitigation
progress, to be pursued through
the Cabinet Committee on Climate
Change and the Green Economy. The
review also examined the progress
made in reducing GHG emissions
in recent years and outlined the
challenges that lay ahead. It
found that Ireland has clear and
challenging GHG mitigation targets
for the 2013–2020 period, which
are binding under EU law and which
must be addressed in the longer-term
context of transition to a competitive
low-carbon economy. The outcome
of the review will strengthen the
development of future climate
policy in support of achieving the
mitigation targets.
Air Quality
Ambient air quality monitoring and
assessment in Ireland is carried out
in accordance with the requirements
of Directive 2008/50/EC on ambient
air quality and cleaner air for Europe,
also known as the CAFE Directive (EP
and CEU, 2008a). The CAFE Directive
was transposed into Irish legislation
by the Air Quality Standards
Regulations 2011 (S.I. 180 of 2011),
which revoked and replaced three
earlier statutory instruments (S.I. 33
of 1999, S.I. 271 of 2002 and S.I. 53
of 2004).
These regulations set limit values/
target values for a range of
pollutants, including sulphur dioxide;
nitrogen dioxide and oxides of
nitrogen; particulate matter (PM
10
and PM
2.5
); lead; benzene; carbon
monoxide; and ozone.
In 2011, the ban on bituminous coal
in cities and towns was extended
to four additional towns and a
nationwide 0.7% limit on sulphur in
bituminous coal was also introduced.
New regulations further extending
the ban are expected in the coming
years.
Waste
Waste management is regarded as
one of the most challenging areas
of environmental management, and
a comprehensive range of European
and national policies are in place to
address this challenge.
The revised EU Waste Directive
(EP and CEU, 2008b) was transposed
into Irish law in March 2011
by the European Communities
(Waste Directive) Regulations 2011
(S.I. 126 of 2011). This legislation is
very significant as it introduces many
new obligations for public and private
sector waste operations as well as for
regulatory authorities.
In August 2011 the Government
consulted on a new National Waste
Strategy. The long-term aim of this
strategy is to influence production
and consumption behaviours to reduce
waste, discourage disposal and to ensure
an effective waste management
market and infrastructure.
A wide range of specialist schemes
have been introduced to deal with
scheduled products, substances and
wastes as required by EU Directives.
These include schemes for Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment
(WEEE), batteries, packaging, end-
of-life vehicles (ELVs) and tyres.