19A.—(1) Where notice is given to the Minister under section 19(1)(a)(i) or an application is made to the Minister under section 19(1)(a)(ii) for permission to carry out works and the following circumstances apply:

(a) the Minister has not refused consent, and

(b) the works would be of a class of development for the time being specified under paragraph 2(a) of Part II of the First Schedule to the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1989 (S.I. No. 349 of 1989) (as substituted by the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 (S.I. No. 93 of 1999)), or under any provision amending or replacing that provision, but for not exceeding the area for the time being specified in relation to that class, and

(c) the Minister considers, having regard to the criteria specified for the purposes of article 27 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1989 (as inserted by the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 1999), or under any provision amending or replacing the said article 27, that the said works would be likely to have significant effects on the environment,

the Minister shall inform the owner, occupier or user, as the case may be, in writing that they are required to submit an environmental impact statement in respect of such works.

(2)  An environmental impact statement shall contain the information for the time being specified under article 25 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1989 (as substituted by the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 1998 (S.I. No. 351 of 1998)), or under any provision amending or replacing the said article 25.

(3) (a)  If a person, before submitting an environmental impact statement in accordance with a requirement of this section, so requests, the Minister shall, after consulting the person who made the request, the planning authority in whose functional area the land is situated, and such Minister of the Government or other body or bodies as the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances, give a written opinion on the information to be contained in such statement.

(b)  A request under paragraph (a) for a written opinion on the information to be contained in an environmental impact statement shall state—

(i) the name and address, and telephone number and e-mail address, if any, of the person making the request and of the person, if any, acting on behalf of the person making the request,

(ii) the location, townland or postal address of the land to which the request relates,and

(iii) a brief description of the nature of the proposed works and of their possible effects on the environment.

(c) Where the Minister considers that he or she has insufficient information to enable him or her to give a written opinion pursuant to a request, he or she shall, by notice in writing, require the person making the request to provide, within a specified period, such further information as he or she considers necessary.

(d) The Minister shall, in dealing with a request for a written opinion, have regard to—

(i) the information required to be contained in an environmental impact statement in accordance with subsection (2),

(ii) any information provided under paragraph (b) or any further information provided under paragraph (c), and

(iii) any consultations under paragraph (a).

(e) A written opinion shall indicate the extent to which the information specified in paragraph 2 of the Second Schedule to the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 1989 (as substituted by the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Amendment) Regulations 1999), or in any provision amending or replacing the said paragraph, should be contained in the environmental impact statement.

(f) The giving of a written opinion in accordance with paragraph (a) shall not prejudice the exercise by the Minister of his or her powers under this Act to require the person who made the request to furnish further information in relation to the effects on the environment of the proposed works.

(4) (a) At the request of a person intending to carry out works, the Minister may, where he or she is satisfied that exceptional circumstances so warrant and after consultation with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, grant in respect of proposed works an exemption from a requirement under this section to prepare an environmental impact statement, except that no exemption may be granted in respect of proposed works if another Member State of the European Communities, having been informed about the proposed works and their likely effects on the environment in that State, has indicated that it intends to furnish views on those effects.

(b) The Minister shall, in granting an exemption under paragraph (a), consider whether—

(i)   the effects, if any, of the proposed works on the environment should be assessed in some other manner, and

(ii)  the information arising from the assessment should be made available to the public,

and the Minister may apply such requirements regarding these matters as he or she considers necessary or appropriate.

(c) Notice of any exemption granted under paragraph (a), of the reasons for granting the exemption and of any requirements applied under paragraph (b) shall, as soon as may be,—

(i) be published in Iris Oifigiúil and in at least one newspaper circulating in the district in which is situated the land to which the proposed works relate, and

(ii) be given, together with a copy of the information, if any, made available to the public in accordance with paragraph (b), to the Commission of the European Communities.]