1758. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the powers of local authorities with regard to quarries; who is responsible for inspections of quarries; who is responsible for issues relating to noise or matter emanating from quarries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57792/26]

Inspection and regulation of quarries in Ireland are split across different national and local bodies depending on the focus: the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) handles worker safety, local planning authorities manage planning applications, and associated environmental conditions and the Environmental Protection Agency oversees industrial emissions.

In terms of noise regulation, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is also the national authority for overseeing the implementation of the Environmental Noise Regulations, and this agency, in addition to responsibility for noise policy, is under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment.

In respect of the local authority role in managing planning permissions, the powers of planning authorities to enforce planning control and deal with breaches of planning law are currently provided for under the Planning and Development Act 2000, which obliges all planning authorities to investigate and follow through on any complaint of unauthorised development. The key objectives of planning enforcement are to bring unauthorized development under control, remedy its impacts, and potentially take legal action where necessary.

Going forward, the powers of planning authorities to enforce planning control and deal with breaches of planning law will be provided for in the Planning and Development Act, 2024. The 2024 Act aims to enhance enforcement of certain activities, including quarrying, through the provision of a new regional structure, on a shared service basis across Local Authorities i.e. regional enforcement authorities.

Section 356 of the 2024 Act provides that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may designate a planning authority as a regional enforcement authority. The Minister may also designate a number of enforcement areas and classes of development to be dealt with by the regional enforcement authority, by reason of the likely size, nature or effect on the surroundings of such development. This section further sets out the functions of the regional enforcement authority and the functions of each planning authority within the regional area. Section 356 has been partially commenced to allow for the establishment of a Regional Enforcement Authority.

It should be noted, however, that at present Local Authorities have full enforcement powers under the current provisions of the Act of 2000, for all enforcement matters including unauthorised quarry extraction, and are not reliant on the establishment of regional enforcement authorities under the Act of 2024 in order to undertake enforcement related matters. Any sites, therefore, on which suspected unlawful development or excessive noise is taking place should be notified immediately to the relevant planning authority and/or the EPA, as appropriate, for investigation and further action.