53.— The Principal Act is amended in Part X by the insertion of the following section before section 172:

“171A.— (1) In this Part—

‘environmental impact assessment’ means an assessment carried out by a planning authority or the Board, as the case may be, in accordance with this Part and regulations made thereunder, that shall identify, describe and assess in an appropriate manner, in light of each individual case and in accordance with Articles 4 to 11 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the direct and indirect effects of a proposed development on the following:

(a) human beings, flora and fauna,

(b) soil, water, air, climate and the landscape,

(c) material assets and the cultural heritage, and

(d) the interaction between the factors mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c).

(2) Subject to this Part, a word or expression that is used in the Part and that is also used in the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Part as it has in the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.”.