Dumping At Sea Act, 1996

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Permits in relation to dumping.

5.—(1) (a) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications and such other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate, grant, or refuse to grant, a permit to a person who applies to the Minister for a permit authorising the dumping of a specified vessel, aircraft or offshore installation, or a specified quantity of a specified substance or material in a specified place within a specified period of time or the loading onto the vessel or aircraft, of a specified quantity of a specified substance or material at a specified place within a specified period of time, which is intended to be dumped from the vessel or aircraft concerned.

(b) In deciding whether to grant or refuse a permit under this subsection, the Minister shall consider—

(i) the provisions establishing criteria governing the grant of a permit for dumping which are set out in the First Schedule to this Act, and

(ii) (I) the exceptions to the prohibition on dumping as contained in the extracts from Annex II to the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic done at Paris on the 22nd day of September, 1992, which are set out in Part 1 of the Second Schedule to this Act, or

(II) the exceptions to the prohibition on dumping set out in Part 2 of the said Schedule and permitted under Annex III to the said Convention,

as may be appropriate.

(2) A person who applies to the Minister for a permit under this section shall furnish to the Minister such information as the Minister may consider necessary for the purpose of the exercise of functions under this section, including, where so requested by the Minister, information that will satisfy the Minister that there is no suitable alternative means of disposal of the vessel, aircraft, offshore installation, substance or material concerned.

(3) A permit under this section shall contain such conditions as the Minister thinks appropriate. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, a permit under this section shall include a condition that the person to whom it is granted shall indemnify the Minister against all reasonable costs incurred by him arising out of a breach of a condition of the said permit.

(4) The Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for the Environment, the Minister for Enterprise and Employment, the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications and such other Minister of the Government as the Minister considers appropriate, revoke or amend a permit under this section, whenever the Minister deems it appropriate.

(5) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, charge, in respect of an application for a permit under this section, a fee of such amount as, in the opinion of the Minister, is appropriate having regard to the cost of any tests and investigations to be carried out for the purpose of enabling the Minister to decide whether to grant or refuse the application.

(6) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, in a case where the Minister proposes to grant a permit to a person under this section, charge the person (in addition to any fee paid by the person under subsection (5) of this section) a fee of such amount as, in the opinion of the Minister, is appropriate having regard to the cost of any monitoring, surveys and examinations carried out or to be carried out for the purposes of enabling the Minister—

(a) to determine where dumping may take place,

(b) to assess the effects of the dumping to which the permit relates on the marine environment and the living resources which it supports, and

(c) to ensure that the dumping to which the permit relates is carried out in accordance with that permit.

(7) A person who, in relation to an application for a permit under this section, makes a statement to the Minister that is false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence unless it is shown that the person concerned did not, and could not reasonably have been expected to, know that the statement was false or misleading in a material respect.

(8) (a) Permits may, subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, be granted, revoked or amended by a person authorised for that purpose by the Minister and references to the Minister in subsections (1) to (7) of this section shall be construed as including references to such person.

(b) Where a person is authorised in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection to grant, revoke or amend a permit the person shall, in the discharge of such functions, have regard to such considerations of the policy as the Minister may direct.

(9) (a) The Minister shall cause to be established and kept a register and shall cause to be entered in the register particulars of all permits granted under this section.

(b) The register kept under this section shall be open to inspection by the public free of charge at all reasonable times.

(c) The Minister shall, as soon as may be after the end of each year, cause to be published in Iris Oifigiúil, particulars of all permits granted under this section, in that year.

(10) A permit granted under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981 , and in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force as if granted under this Act.

(11) The Minister may by order modify or amend any provision of the First or Second Schedule to this Act in conformity with any alteration which may from time to time be made to either or both the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic done at Paris on the 22nd day of September, 1992 and the London Convention.

(12) This section shall not come into operation as respects offshore installations until such day as the Government may by order appoint.

(13) Whenever an order is proposed to be made under this section a draft of the order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.