51G.— (1) The Minister, or as the case may be, the Authority having made a request under section 51E, or carried out an assessment under section 51F, and considered any information furnished to it or that has otherwise come into its possession as a result, may issue to the developer to whom the request was made, or whose compliance was assessed, the terms of a direction (in this section referred to as "the proposed direction") that the Minister or, as the case may be, the Authority proposes to issue to the developer, requiring the developer to carry out, cause to be carried out, or arrange for, within a specified period, such action as the Minister or, as the case may be, the Authority considers necessary for the purposes of section 51D to ensure that that the developer complies with modifications and conditions specified in the order.

(2) The proposed direction shall specify a period within which the developer may make observations to the Minister or, as the case may be, the Authority in relation to the proposal to make the direction (and the developer may make such observations within that period accordingly).

(3) After the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (2) and having considered any observations made by the developer under that subsection, the Minister or, as the case may be, the Authority may confirm, with or without modification, or decide not to confirm the proposed direction and, in a case where the proposal is confirmed, the Minister or, as the case may be the Authority, shall accordingly issue to the developer the direction concerned and the developer shall comply with the direction within the period specified in the direction.

(4) A developer that fails to comply with a direction under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable —

(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for any term not exceeding 6 months or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €500,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or, at the discretion of the court, to both such fine and such imprisonment.

(5) In imposing any penalty under subsection (4) the court shall, in particular, have regard to the risk or extent of damage to the environment and any remediation required arising from the act or omission constituting the offence.]