Air Pollution Act, 1987

Interpretation generally.

7.—(1) In this Act—

“air quality management plan” has the meaning specified in section 46 ;

“air quality standard” means a standard prescribed for the purposes of this Act by the Minister pursuant to section 50 ;

“authorised fireplace” means a fireplace declared to be an authorised fireplace by the Minister in regulations under section 40 (2);

“authorised fuel” means a fuel declared to be an authorised fuel by the Minister in regulations under section 40 (3);

“authorised person” means a person who is—

(a) appointed in writing by a local authority to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act, or

(b) appointed in writing to be an authorised person pursuant to regulations under this Act by a person specified in those regulations;

“emission” means, save where the context otherwise requires, an emission of a pollutant into the atmosphere;

“emission limit value” means a limit prescribed by the Minister under section 51 ;

“fireplace” includes any furnace, incinerator, grate or stove whether open or closed or any other place of combustion;

“functions” includes powers and duties;

“industrial process” includes any process which is carried on in the course of trade, business or industry and which is for, or incidental to, the making or production of any article, part of an article, substance, energy or thing or the altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning, washing, packing or canning, or the adapting for sale, or breaking up or demolition of any article, substance or thing; including, in particular, the getting, raising, taking, carrying away and processing (including size reduction, grading and heating) of minerals, the storage of mineral wastes and the incineration, treatment or recovery of other wastes;

“licence”, in relation to a licence granted under section 32 , includes, where the context so admits or requires, such a licence as revised pursuant to section 33 ;

“local authority” means—

(a) in the case of the administrative county of Dublin, other than the borough of Dún Laoghaire, the council of the county of Dublin,

(b) in the case of the borough of Dún Laoghaire, the corporation of the borough,

(c) in the case of a county borough, the corporation of the county borough, and

(d) in the case of any other administrative county, the council of the county,

and references to the functional area of a local authority shall be construed accordingly;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment;

“monitoring” includes the inspection, measurement, sampling or analysis, for the purposes of this Act, of any emission or of the ambient air in any locality, whether periodically or continuously;

“occupier”, in relation to any premises, includes a lessee, any person entitled to occupy the premises and any other person having, for the time being, control of the premises;

“pollutant” means any substance specified in the First Schedule or any other substance or energy which, when emitted into the atmosphere, either by itself or in combination with any other substance, may cause air pollution;

“premises” includes any messuage, building, structure or land (whether or not there are structures on the land or whether or not the land is covered with water) or any hereditament of any tenure, together with any out-buildings and curtilage;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister;

“private dwelling” means any building or structure or any part of any building or structure (including any ancillary building or structure) which is used, or intended to be used, solely for human habitation but does not include—

(a) a curtilage or garden, or

(b) an ancillary building or structure, or part of a building or structure, having a fireplace with a maximum heating capacity exceeding 45kW which serves more than one dwelling;

“public place” means any street, road, seashore or other place to which the public have access, whether by right or by permission, or whether subject to, or free of charge;

“the register” means the register kept pursuant to section 17 ;

“reserved function” means—

(a) in relation to the council of a county or the corporation of Dún Laoghaire, a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1985,

(b) in relation to the corporation of a county borough, a reserved function for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough;

“smoke” includes soot, ash, grit, and any other particle emitted in smoke;

“special control area” means an area in relation to which a special control area order is in operation;

“special control area order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 39 .

(2) In this Act, a reference to a section, Schedule or Part is a reference to a section, Schedule or Part of this Act unless there is an indication that a reference to any other enactment is intended.

(3) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless there is an indication that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(4) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by any subsequent enactment.