Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992

Application of other Acts.

98.—(1) Notwithstanding section 26 of the Act of 1963, or any other provision of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, 1963 to 1991, where a licence or revised licence under this Part has been granted or is or will be required in relation to an activity, a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála shall not, in respect of any development comprising or for the purposes of the activity—

(a) decide to refuse a permission or an approval under Part IV of the Act of 1963 for the reason that the development would cause environmental pollution, or

(b) decide to grant such permission subject to conditions which are for the purposes of the prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution from the activity,

and, accordingly—

(i) a planning authority in dealing with an application for a permission or for an approval for any such development shall not consider any matters relating to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity;

(ii) An Bord Pleanála shall not consider any appeal made to it against a decision of a planning authority in respect of such an application, or any submissions or observations made to it in relation to any such appeal, so far as the appeal, or the submissions or observations, as the case may be, relates or relate to the risk of environmental pollution from the activity.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Minerals Development Acts, 1940 to 1979, where a licence or revised licence under this Part has been granted or is or will be required in relation to an activity, a lease granted by the Minister for Energy under the said Acts in respect of the same activity shall not contain conditions which are for the purpose of the prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution from the activity.

(3) Without prejudice to subsections (1) and (2), where a licence or revised licence under this Part is granted in relation to an activity and—

(a) a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963, or

(b) a lease under the Minerals Development Acts, 1940 to 1979,

has been granted in respect of the same activity, any conditions attached to that permission or contained in that lease, as the case may be, shall, so far as they are for the purposes of the prevention, limitation, elimination, abatement or reduction of environmental pollution, cease to have effect.

(4) The grant of a permission or lease under any of the Acts referred to in subsections (1) and (2) in relation to any activity shall not prejudice, affect or restrict in any way the application of any provision of this Act to such activity.