Air Pollution Act 1987

Interpretation generally.

7. — (1) In this Act—

F2[“ Agency ” means the Environmental Protection Agency;]

“ 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 F3[(other than in section 12B or 12C or Part IC)] 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;

F2[“ fuel activity ” has the meaning given to it by section 22A;]

F2[“ fuel register ” means the register established and maintained under section 22A;]

“ 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) F4[…]

(b) F4[…]

(d) in the case of any F4[…] 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;

F5[“ pollutant ” means any substance specified in the First Schedule or any other substance (including a substance which gives rise to odour) 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 F4[…], 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.

Annotations

Amendments:

Inserted (31.08.2015) by Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (29/2015), s. 18(a), S.I. No. 358 of 2015, art. 2.

Inserted (31.08.2015) by Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 (29/2015), s. 18(b), S.I. No. 358 of 2015, art. 2.

Repealed (1.01.1994) by Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 (31/1993), s. 4(1) and sch. 1, S.I. No. 400 of 1993.

Substituted (23.04.1992) by Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 (7/1992), s. 18(2) and sch. 3 para. 2, commenced on enactment.

Modifications (not altering text):

Reference to Minister construed (22.07.2016) by Climate Action and Environment (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2016 (S.I. No. 393 of 2016), arts. 2, 3 and sch., in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the performance of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

(2) References to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government contained in any Act or any instrument made under an Act and relating to the administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

3. (1) The functions conferred on the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government by or under any of the provisions of—

(a) the enactments specified in Schedule 1, and

(b) the statutory instruments specified in Schedule 2,

are transferred to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

(2) References to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government contained in any Act or instrument made under an Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Order shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Schedule 1

Article 3(1)(a)

Enactments, functions by or under which are transferred from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

Air Pollution Act 1987 (No. 6 of 1987)

...

Application of section modified (27.05.1996) by Environmental Protection Agency (Extension of Powers) Order 1996 (S.I. No. 126 of 1996), art. 10, in effect as per art. 2.

10. The provisions of the Act of 1987 which are specified in the Table hereunder as modified by this Order shall apply (subject to any qualification included in the Table) to the Agency in lieu of the local authority for the purposes of the prevention or limitation, or the remedying of the effects, as the case may be, of air pollution from an activity, other than an activity to which section 99 (2) of the Act applies, in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Act is in force.

Table

Air Pollution Act 1987

Section	Provision or Qualification
7	Subsection (1) for the purpose of the appointment of "authorised persons".
11	The whole section.
12	The whole section.
13	Subsections (1), (3) and (4).
14	The whole section.
15	The whole section.
16	Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) and subsections (2), (3) and (4).
24	The whole section.
26	The whole section.
28	Subsections (4) and (6).
54	Subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4).

11. For the purposes of article 10, a function conferred on a local authority or anything required to be done in relation to a local authority under any of the provisions of the Act of 1987 specified in that article, shall, as the case may be, be exercised by, or done in relation to, the Agency in lieu of the local authority.

12. (1) For the purposes of articles 10 and 11, for references to "local authority" in any of the provisions therein referred to (other than section 13 (1) (b) of the Act of 1987) there shall be substituted the following—

"the Environmental Protection Agency, in the case of an activity in respect of which a licence or revised licence under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992, is in force, and, in any other case, a local authority",

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of articles 10 and 11, the provisions of the Act of 1987 which are specified in the said articles shall apply as modified in the manner set out in the Second Schedule.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Modifications of the Air Pollution Act, 1987

The provisions of the Air Pollution Act, 1987 as modified for the purposes of article 12 (2) are set out as follows—

… (none relevant to this section)

Application of section modified (1.08.1994) by Environmental Protection Agency (Extension of Powers) Order 1994 (S.I. No. 206 of 1994), art 10, in effect as per art. 2.

Table

Air Pollution Act 1987

Section	Provision
7	Subsection (1) for the purpose of the appointment of "authorised persons".
11	The whole section
12	The whole section
13	Subsections (1), (3) and (4).
14	The whole section
15	The whole section
16	Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) and subsections (2), (3) and (4).
24	The whole section
26	The whole section
28	The whole section
28A	Subsections (4) and (6).
54	Subsections (1), (2), (3) and (4).

and cognate words shall be construed accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of articles 10 and 11, the provisions of the Act of 1987 which are specified in the said articles shall apply as modified in the manner set out in the Second Schedule.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Modifications of the Air Pollution Act, 1987

The provisions of the Air Pollution Act, 1987 as modified for the purposes of article 12 (2) are set out as follows—

… (none relevant to this section).

Revised Acts

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Air Pollution Act 1987