WASTE MANAGEMENT ACT, 1996

AN ACT TO MAKE PROVISION IN RELATION TO THE PREVENTION, MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL OF WASTE; TO GIVE EFFECT TO PROVISIONS OF CERTAIN ACTS ADOPTED BY INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES IN RESPECT OF THOSE MATTERS; TO AMEND THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ACT, 1992, AND TO REPEAL CERTAIN ENACTMENTS AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [20th May, 1996]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title and commencement.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Waste Management Act, 1996.

• (2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions:

Provided that if immediately before the expiration of the period of 2 years from the date of passing of this Act, this Act has not been commenced by an order under this section or any provision or provisions thereof remains or remain to be commenced by such an order (including as respects a particular purpose), this Act or the said provision or provisions shall come into operation (or, in the case of such provision or provisions that remains or remain to be commenced for a particular purpose, shall come into operation for that purpose) upon the expiration of the said period.

2. Community acts given effect to by this Act.

2.—The purposes for which the provisions of this Act are enacted include the purpose of giving effect to the Community acts specified in the Table to this section.

TABLE

F1[…]

F1[…]

Council Directive 76/403/EEC of 6 April, 1976 on the disposal of polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls¹

Council Directive 80/68/EEC of 17 December, 1979 on the protection of groundwater against pollution caused by certain dangerous substances²

F2[Directive No. 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment³ F3[, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014²

Council Directive 86/278/EEC of 12 June, 1986 on the protection of the environment, and in particular of the soil, when sewage sludge is used in agriculture⁴

F1[…]

Council Directive 87/217/EEC of 19 March, 1987 on the prevention and reduction of environmental pollution by asbestos⁵

Council Directive 89/369/EEC of 8 June, 1989 on the prevention of air pollution from new municipal waste incineration plants⁶

F1[…]

Council Directive 91/157/EEC of 18 March, 1991 on batteries and accumulators containing dangerous substances⁷

Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May, 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment⁸

F1[…]

Commission Directive 93/86/EEC of 4 October, 1993 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 91/157/EEC on batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous substances⁹

F4[Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999¹⁰ on the landfill of waste and Council Directive 2011/97/EU of 5 December 2011 amending Directive 1999/31/EC as regards specific criteria for the storage of metallic mercury considered as waste]

F5[Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste¹¹

European Parliament and Council Directive 94/62/EC of 20 December, 1994 on packaging and packaging waste¹²

F6[F1[…]

European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/53/EC of 18 September, 2000 on end-of-life vehicles¹³

European Parliament and Council Directive 2000/76/EC of 4 December, 2000 on the incineration of waste¹⁴

F7[European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/95/EC of 27 January 2003¹⁵ on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment

European Parliament and Council Directive 2002/96/EC of 27 January 2003¹⁶ on waste electrical and electronic equipment

European Parliament and Council Directive 2003/108/EC of 8 December 2003¹⁷ amending Directive 2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment]

F8[Directive 2006/21/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006¹⁸ on the management of waste from extractive industries

F9[…]

Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives]

3. F10[Non-application of this Act.

3.— (1) This Act shall not apply to—

• (a) gaseous effluents emitted into the atmosphere and carbon dioxide captured and transported for the purposes of geological storage and geologically stored in accordance with Directive 2009/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2009¹⁹ on the geological storage of carbon dioxide or excluded from the scope of that Directive pursuant to Article 2(2) of that Directive,

• (b) land (in situ) including unexcavated contaminated soil and buildings permanently connected with land,

• (c) uncontaminated soil and other naturally occurring material excavated in the course of construction activities where it is certain that the material will be used for the purposes of construction in its natural state on the site from which it was excavated,

• (d) the dumping (within the meaning of the Dumping at Sea Act 1981 (No. 8 of 1981)) of waste at sea,

• (e) radioactive waste,

• (f) decommissioned explosives, or

• (g) faecal matter, if not covered by subsection (2)(b), straw and other natural non-hazardous agricultural or forestry material used in farming, forestry or for the production of energy from such biomass through processes or methods which do not harm the environment or endanger human health.

• (2) This Act shall not apply to the following to the extent that they are covered by other Community acts:

• (a) waste waters;

• (b) animal by-products, including processed products covered by Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009²⁰ laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 (Animal by-products Regulation) F11[, except those which are destined for incineration, landfilling or use in a biogas or composting plant];

• (c) carcasses of animals that have died other than by being slaughtered, including animals killed to eradicate epizootic diseases, and that are disposed of in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009;

• (d) waste resulting from prospecting, extraction, treatment and storage of mineral resources and the working of quarries covered by Directive 2006/21/EC.

• F12[(e) substances that are destined for use as feed materials as defined in point (g) of Article 3(2) of Regulation (EC)No 767/200910 of the European Parliament and of the Council and that do not consist of or contain animal by-products.]

• (3) Without prejudice to obligations under other relevant Community acts, this Act shall not apply to sediments relocated inside surface waters for the purpose of managing waters and waterways or of preventing floods or mitigating the effects of floods and droughts or land reclamation if it is proved that the sediments are non-hazardous.]

4. F13[Definitions of “activity”, “disposal”, “hazardous waste”, “recovery” and “waste”.

4. (1) In this Act—

“activity” includes operation;

“disposal”—

• (a) means any operation which is not recovery even where the operation has as a secondary consequence the reclamation of substances or energy, and

• (b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), includes the disposal operations listed in the Third Schedule,

and “waste disposal activity” shall be construed accordingly;

“hazardous waste” means waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in the Second Schedule;

F14["non-hazardous waste" means waste which is not covered by the definition of hazardous waste.]

“recovery”—

• (a) means any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy, and

• (b) without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (a), includes the recovery operations listed in the Fourth Schedule,

and "waste recovery activity" shall be construed accordingly;

“waste” means any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.

• (2) A reference in this Act to waste shall be construed as including a reference to hazardous waste.]

5. Interpretation generally.

5.—(1) In this Act, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1963” means the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963;

“the Act of 1987” means the Air Pollution Act, 1987;

“the Act of 1992” means the Environmental Protection Agency Act, 1992;

F15[“Act of 2022” means the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022;]

“aftercare” means, in relation to a facility which has been used for the purpose of waste recovery or disposal, any measures that are necessary to be taken in relation to the facility for the purpose of preventing environmental pollution following the cessation of the activity in question at the facility;

“the Agency” means the Environmental Protection Agency established under section 19 of the Act of 1992;

“any Minister of the Government concerned” means any Minister of the Government (other than the Minister) who, having regard to the functions vested in him or her, in the opinion of the Minister might be concerned with or interested in the matter in question;

F15[“approval”, in relation to a proposal under section 14A(4), means an approval given under section 14A(5) or renewed under section 14A(11) in respect of the CCTV scheme which is the subject of the proposal;

“approved CCTV scheme” means a CCTV scheme which is the subject of a proposal in respect of which an approval is in being;]

F16[“authorised person” means F17[(other than in section 10A)] a person who is appointed in writing by—

• (a) the Minister,

• (b) a local authority,

• (c) the Agency,

• (d) the Commissioner of the Garda Síochána (or a member of the Garda Síochána nominated by that Commissioner for the purposes of appointing authorised persons under this Act), or

• (e) such other person as may be prescribed,

to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act or any Part or section thereof;]

“authorised waste collector” means a holder of a waste collection permit that is in force;

F15[“automatic number plate recognition device” means a device which engages an automated method of recognising vehicle registration plates from a camera image;]

F18["backfilling" means any recovery operation where suitable non-hazardous waste is used for purposes of reclamation in excavated areas or for engineering purposes in landscaping. Waste used for backfilling must substitute non-waste materials, be suitable for the aforementioned purposes, and be limited to the amount strictly necessary to achieve those purposes;]

F19[“best available techniques” means best available techniques as defined in Article 2(12) of Directive 2008/1/EC;]

F15[“biometric data” has the meaning given to it by section 69 (1) of the Data Protection Act 2018;]

F20["bio-waste" means biodegradable garden and park waste, food and kitchen waste from households, offices, restaurants, wholesale, canteens, caterers and retail premises and comparable waste from food processing plants;]

F15[“body-worn recording device” means a recording device affixed to or contained in the clothing, uniform or headgear of an authorised person;]

F19[“broker” means any person arranging the recovery or disposal of waste on behalf of others, including any such person that does not take physical possession of the waste;]

F15[“CCTV scheme” has the meaning given to it by section 14A(1);]

F15[“closed circuit television” or “CCTV” means a system of recording devices the signals of which are not made publicly available but are monitored, or are capable of being monitored, by a local authority;

“code of practice” means a code of practice approved by the Minister in accordance with section 14C and includes part of a code of practice;]

F19[“collection” means the gathering of waste, including the preliminary sorting and storage of waste for the purposes of transport to a waste treatment facility;]

“commercial waste” means waste from premises used wholly or mainly for the purposes of a trade or business or for the purposes of sport, recreation, education or entertainment but does not include household, agricultural or industrial waste;

“Community act” means an act adopted by an institution of the European Communities;

F18["construction and demolition waste" means waste generated by construction and demolition activities;]

“contravention” includes, in relation to any provision, a failure or refusal to comply with that provision, and “contravene” shall be construed accordingly;

F19[“dealer” means any person who acts in the role of principal to purchase and subsequently sell waste, including any such person who does not take physical possession of the waste;]

F21“development” has the meaning assigned to it by [section 3](https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2000/act/30/section/3) of the [Planning and Development Act 2000]

F22["EIA Directive" means Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011¹ as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014²;]

“emission” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1992;

“emission into the atmosphere” means the emission of a pollutant, within the meaning of the Act of 1987, into the atmosphere;

F23[“emission limit value” means the mass, expressed in terms of a specific parameter, concentration or level of an emission, or both a specific concentration and level of an emission, which may not be exceeded during one or more periods of time;]

F24[“Environment Fund” has the meaning assigned to it by section 74;]

F25[…]

F21[“environmental impact assessment” shall be construed in accordance with section 40(2A);]

F22["environmental impact assessment report" shall be construed in accordance with section 40(2A);]

F26[F27[…]]

“environmental medium” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1992;

“environmental pollution” means, in relation to waste, the holding, transport, recovery or disposal of waste in a manner which would F28[…] endanger human health or harm the environment, and in particular—

• (a) create a risk to waters, the atmosphere, land, soil, plants or animals,

• (b) create a nuisance through noise, odours or litter, or

• (c) adversely affect the countryside or places of special interest;

“established activity” means—

• (a) in relation to an activity the carrying on of which requires a waste licence, an activity—

• (i) in respect of which a permission under Part IV of the Act of 1963 is granted before the date prescribed under section 39 (1) in respect of that activity (“the relevant date”) and which permission on that date has not ceased to have effect in accordance with the provisions of sections 2 and 4 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1982, or

• (ii) which is, immediately before the relevant date, being carried on or was, at any time during the period of 12 months ending on the said date, carried on, other than an activity which involves or is associated with an unauthorised structure or an unauthorised use within the meaning of the Act of 1963, and

• (b) in any other case, an activity which was being lawfully carried on immediately before the commencement of the provision concerned of this Act that requires the use of the F29[best available techniques];

“European Communities” has the meaning assigned to it by the European Communities Act, 1972;

“European Waste Catalogue” means the list of waste set out in Commission Decision 94/3/EC of 20 December, 1993¹, (made pursuant to Article 1 (a) of Council Directive 75/442/EEC² on waste) and includes such list as amended from time to time;

F24[“executive function” means a function other than a reserved function;]

F18["extended producer responsibility scheme" means a set of measures taken by Member States to ensure that producers of products bear financial responsibility or financial and organisational responsibility for the management of the waste stage of a product’s life cycle.]

F15[“facial recognition device” means a device or system of devices which, through automated use of biometric data, matches or categorises facial images captured by the device;]

“facility” means, in relation to the recovery or disposal of waste, any site or premises used for such purpose;

F18["food waste" means all food as defined in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002¹¹ of the European Parliament and of the Council that has become waste;]

“functions” includes powers and duties and references to the performance of functions include, as respects powers and duties, references to the exercise of the powers and the carrying out of the duties;

F30[…]

“household waste” means waste produced within the curtilage of a building or self-contained part of a building used for the purposes of living accommodation;

F31[“Industrial Emissions Directive” means Directive 2010/75/EU¹ of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 November 2010 on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) (Recast);]

“industrial waste” includes waste produced or arising from manufacturing or industrial activities or processes;

F31[“integrated pollution control activity” has the same meaning as it has in section 3 (amended by Regulation 4 of the European Union (Industrial Emissions) Regulations 2013) of the Act of 1992;]

“land” includes any subsoil thereunder and structure thereon and land covered with water (whether inland or coastal);

F32[“landfill” means a waste disposal site for the deposit of waste onto or into land (i.e. underground), including:

• (a) internal waste disposal sites (i.e. landfill where a producer of waste is carrying out its own waste disposal at the place of production), and

• (b) a permanent site (i.e. more than one year) which is used for temporary storage of waste, but excluding

• (c) facilities where waste is unloaded in order to permit its preparation for further transport for recovery, treatment or disposal elsewhere, and

• (d) storage of waste prior to recovery or treatment for a period less than three years as a general rule, or

• (e) storage of waste prior to disposal for a period less than one year.]

“leachate” means any liquid percolating through deposited waste and emitted from or contained within a landfill;

“local authority” means—

• (a) in the case of a county borough, the corporation of the county borough, and

• (b) in the case of any other administrative county, the council of the county,

and references to the functional area of a local authority shall be construed accordingly;

F24[“manager” means—

• (a) with respect to the corporation of a county borough, the manager for the purposes of the Acts relating to the management of the county borough, and

• (b) with respect to the council of a county, the manager for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1994;]

F18["material recovery" means any recovery operation, other than energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or other means to generate energy. It includes, inter alia, preparing for re-use, recycling and backfilling;]

F19[“Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government;]

F15[“mobile recording device” means a recording device, other than CCTV, and includes a body-worn recording device;]

“monitoring” includes the inspection, measurement, sampling or analysis, whether periodically or continuously, for the purpose of this Act, of waste, a premises at which waste is produced, or a facility at which waste is held, recovered or disposed of, and of any emissions therefrom, or any environmental medium which is affected by or which, in the opinion of the local authority concerned or the Agency may be affected by, such emissions;

“municipal waste” means household waste as well as commercial and other waste which, because of its nature or composition, is similar to household waste;

F18["municipal waste" means:

• (a) mixed waste and separately collected waste from households, including paper and cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, bio-waste, wood, textiles, packaging, waste electrical and electronic equipment, waste batteries and accumulators, and bulky waste, including mattresses and furniture;

• (b) mixed waste and separately collected waste from other sources, where such waste is similar in nature and composition to waste from households;

Municipal waste does not include waste from production, agriculture, forestry, fishing, septic tanks and sewage network and treatment, including sewage sludge, end-of-life vehicles or construction and demolition waste. This definition is without prejudice to the allocation of responsibilities for waste management between public and private actors;]

“occupier” includes, in relation to any premises, the owner, a lessee, any person entitled to occupy the premises and any other person having, for the time being, control of the premises;

F15[“operation”, in relation to closed circuit television, includes the maintenance and monitoring of closed circuit television;]

“packaging” means any material, container or wrapping, used for or in connection with the containment, transport, handling, protection, promotion, marketing or sale of any product or substance, including such packaging as may be prescribed;

“person in charge” includes, in relation to any premises, the occupier of the premises or a manager, supervisor or operator of an activity relating to the holding, disposal or recovery of waste which is carried on at the premises;

“planning authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 1963;

“plant” includes any equipment, appliance, apparatus, machinery, vehicle, skip, works, building or other structure used for the purposes of, or the provision of which is incidental to, the holding, disposal or recovery of waste;

F30[…]

“premises” includes any messuage, building, vessel, structure or land (whether or not there are structures on the land and whether or not the land is covered with water), and any plant or vehicles on such land, or any hereditament of any tenure, together with any out-buildings and curtilage;

F33[“preparing for re-use” means checking, F34[cleaning] or repairing recovery operations, by which products or components of products that have become waste are prepared so that they can be re-used without any other pre-processing;]

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

F35["prevention" means measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce:

• (a) the quantity of waste, including through the re-use of products or the extension of the life span of products;

• (b) the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health; or

• (c) the content of hazardous substances in materials and products;]

“product” includes any naturally occurring or manufactured thing;

“public authority” means—

• (a) a Minister of the Government,

• (b) the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland,

• (c) a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941,

• (d) a harbour authority within the meaning of the Harbours Act, 1946,

• (e) a health board established under the Health Act, 1970,

• (f) a board or other body established by or under statute,

• (g) a company in which all the shares are held by, or on behalf of, or by directors appointed by, a Minister of the Government, or

• (h) a company in which all the shares are held by a board, company, or other body referred to in paragraph (f) or (g) of this definition;

F15[“recording device” means a device that is capable of recording or processing, or both, visual images or audio, or both, on any medium, from which a visual image or moving visual images may be produced and includes any accompanying document, and, where only visual images or moving visual images are concerned, includes any sound accompanying those images but does not include automatic number plate recognition devices or facial recognition devices;]

F19[“recycling”—

• (a) subject to paragraph (b), means any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances, whether for the original or other purposes, including the reprocessing of organic material,

• (b) does not include—

• (i) energy recovery, and

• (ii) the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations;

“regeneration of waste oils” means any recycling operation whereby base oils can be produced by refining waste oils, in particular by removing the contaminants, the oxidation products and the additives contained in such oils;

“the Regulations of 2011” means the European Communities (Waste Directive) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 126 of 2011);]

F18["the Regulations of 2020" means the European Union (Waste Directive) Regulations 2020 (S.I. No. 323 of 2020);]

“reserved function” means—

• (a) in relation to the council of a county, a reserved function for the purposes of the County Management Acts, 1940 to 1994,

• (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;

F33[“re-use” means any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived;

“separate collection” means the collection where a waste stream is kept separately by type and nature so as to facilitate a specific treatment;]

“service station” means any installation where fuel is capable of being dispensed to motor vehicle fuel tanks from stationary storage tanks;

“sewage” and “sewage effluent” have the meanings assigned to them by the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977;

“scheduled activity” means any process, development or operation for the time being specified in the First Schedule to the Act of 1992;

“structure” means any building, erection, structure, excavation, or other thing, constructed, erected, or made on, in or under land, or any part of a structure so defined, and, where the context so admits, includes the land on, in, or under which the structure is situate;

“temporary storage of waste” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (3);

“transport” includes, in relation to waste, the movement of waste by road, rail, air, sea or inland waterway but does not include the movement of waste from one place to another—

• (a) by means of any pipe or similar apparatus which joins those two places, or

• (b) on and within the site at which the waste is held for the time being;

F19[“TFS Regulation” means Regulation (EC) No. 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006⁶ on shipments of waste;

“treatment” means recovery or disposal operations, including preparation prior to recovery or disposal;]

“vehicle” includes—

• (a) part of a vehicle,

• (b) an article designed as a vehicle but not capable of functioning as a vehicle,

• (c) a skip designed or used for carriage on a vehicle,

• (d) a load on a vehicle;

“waste collection permit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 34;

F33[“Waste Directive” means Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives;

“waste holder” means the waste producer or the person who is in possession of the waste;]

F36["waste management" means the collection, transport, recovery including sorting, and disposal of waste, including the supervision of such operations and the after-care of disposal sites, and including actions taken as a dealer or broker;]

F33[“waste oils” means any mineral or synthetic lubrication or industrial oils which have become unfit for the use for which they were originally intended, such as used combustion engine oils and gearbox oils, lubricating oils, oils for turbines and hydraulic oils;

“waste producer” means anyone—

• (a) whose activities produce waste (in this Act referred to as the “original waste producer”), or

• (b) who carries out pre-processing, mixing or other operations resulting in a change in the nature or composition of such waste;

“waste prevention and management legislation and policy” means—

• (a) this Act and regulations made under this Act,

• (b) policy issued by the Minister,

• (c) waste management plans made by a local authority, or

• (d) waste prevention programmes guidance or policy issued by the Agency;]

“waste licence” shall be construed in accordance with section 37;

F37[“waste service” means any service, facility, approval or other thing which a local authority may or is required to render, supply, grant, issue or otherwise provide in the performance of any of its functions under this Act to any person or in respect of any premises;]

“waters” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977.

• F38[(1A) In this Act, a reference to—

• (a) the date on which a waste licence is granted is a reference to the date on which the licence is sealed with the seal of the Agency, and

• (b) the date on which a decision by the Agency to refuse a waste licence is made is a reference to the date on which that decision, as reduced to writing, is so sealed.]

• F39[(2)
• (a) A reference in this Act to “best available techniques” shall be construed as meaning the most effective and advanced stage in the development of an activity and its methods of operation, which indicate the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing, in principle, the basis for emission limit values designed to prevent or eliminate, or where that is not practicable, generally to reduce an emission and its impact on the environment as a whole.

• (b) For the purposes of paragraph (a)—

• (i) “best”, in relation to techniques, means the most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole;

• (ii) “available techniques” means those techniques developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant class of activity specified in the Third and Fourth Schedules, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced within the State, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the person carrying on the activity;

• (iii) “techniques” includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, managed, maintained, operated and decommissioned.

• (c) F40[…]]

• (3) In this Act, a reference to the temporary storage of waste shall, without prejudice to any particular provision that may be made pursuant to section 39(6), be construed as a reference to the storage of waste for a period not exceeding 6 months.

• F41[(3A) References in this Act to Dublin City Council are references to Dublin City Council in its designation as the competent authority under Article 53 of the TFS Regulation as provided for in Regulation 4 of the Waste Management (Shipments of Waste) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 419 of 2007).]

• F42[(3B) Subject to this Act, a word or expression that is used in this Act and that is also used in the EIA Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Act as it has in that Directive.]

• (4) In this Act, a reference to a Part, section, or Schedule is a reference to a Part or section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

• (5) In this Act, a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision (including a Schedule) in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

• (6) In this Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment (including this Act).

6. Repeals and revocations.

6.—(1) Each enactment mentioned in column (2) of Part I of the Fifth Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of the said Part.

• (2) Each statutory instrument mentioned in column (2) of Part II of the Fifth Schedule is hereby revoked to the extent specified in column (3) of the said Part.

7. Regulations, orders and directions.

7.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing any matter or thing which is referred to in this Act as prescribed or to be prescribed or for the purpose of enabling any provision of this Act to have full effect.

• (2) Regulations made under this Act may make different provisions in relation to different areas, different circumstances, different classes of persons or waste and different waste management or other activities.

• (3) A regulation under this Act (other than a regulation under section 7 (6), 39 (8) or 62) or an order under this Act (other than an order under F44[section 1(2), 8, 69(1) or 72(12)] or an order under subsection (5) amending or revoking an order under section 8 or 69 (1)) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such regulation or order is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation or order is laid before it, the regulation or order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

• (4) Where regulations under section 7 (6), 39 (8) or 62, or an order under section 8 or 69 (1) or an order under subsection (5) amending or revoking such an order, is or are proposed to be made, a draft of the regulations or the order, as the case may be, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the regulations or order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

• (5)
• (a) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made by him or her under this Act (F45[F46[…]including an order under this paragraph]) and by direction amend or revoke a direction given by him or her under this Act (including a direction under this paragraph).

• (b) The Agency may by direction amend or revoke a direction given by it under this Act (including a direction under this paragraph).

• (c) An order or direction under this subsection shall be made or given in the like manner and its making or giving shall be subject to the like (if any) consents and conditions as the order or direction that it is amending or revoking.

• (6) If in any respect any difficulty arises in bringing any provision of this Act into operation or in relation to the operation of any such provision, the Minister may by regulations do anything which appears to him or her to be necessary or expedient for removing that difficulty, for bringing that provision into operation, or for securing or facilitating its operation, and any such regulations may modify any provision of this or any other enactment so far as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes aforesaid but no regulations may be made under this subsection in relation to a provision of this Act after the expiration of 2 years from the commencement of that provision.

8. Orders in relation to Third Schedule or Fourth Schedule.

8.—The Minister may make an order amending the Third Schedule or the Fourth Schedule by adding or deleting anything to or from either of the said Schedules.

9. Offences by bodies corporate.

9.—(1) Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of a person being a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

• (2) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, subsection (1) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his or her functions of management as if he or she were a director of the body corporate.

10. Penalties.

10.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act (other than an offence referred to in subsection (2)) shall be liable—

• (a) on summary conviction, to a F48[class A fine] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

• (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding F49[€15,000,000] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

• (2) A person guilty of an offence under section 16 (5), 32 (6) (where the offence consists of a contravention of regulations under subsection (4) of that section), 33 (8) F50[34(1)(c), in so far as the offence consists of contravention of a condition attached, under section 34(7)(d), to a waste collection permit, 34(10A), 34A(13)], 38 (7) or 40 (13) shall be liable on summary conviction to a F51[class A fine] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

• (3) If the contravention in respect of which a person is convicted of an offence under this Act is continued after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the contravention continues and for each such offence the person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding F49[€1,000] or (in the case of an offence to which subsection (1) applies) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding F49[€130,000].

• (4) In imposing any penalty under subsection (1), the court shall, in particular, have regard to the risk or extent of environmental pollution F52[, and any remediation required,] arising from the act or omission constituting the offence.

10A. F53[Fixed payment notice for certain offences relating to producer responsibility

10A.— (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed a relevant offence the authorised person may give to the person a notice (in this Act referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) in writing and in the prescribed form stating that—

• (a) the person is alleged to have committed that offence,

• (b) the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority concerned or the Agency, as appropriate, at the address specified in the notice a payment of the amount specified in subsection (4) in respect of that offence, accompanied by the notice,

• (c) the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and

• (d) a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is given in respect of the relevant offence concerned will not be instituted during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of that offence will be instituted.

• (2) Where a fixed payment notice is given—

• (a) the person to whom it applies may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority concerned or the Agency, as appropriate, at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice,

• (b) the local authority concerned or the Agency, as appropriate, shall receive the payment and shall, upon receipt of the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received shall not be recoverable by the person who made it and the local authority or Agency, as appropriate, shall retain the money for disposal in accordance with subsection (5), and

• (c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

• (3) In proceedings for a relevant offence it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that he or she has made a payment in accordance with this section, pursuant to a fixed payment notice issued in respect of that offence.

• (4) The amount to be specified in a fixed payment notice in respect of a relevant offence is—

• (a) €2,000, where the relevant offence consists of a contravention of Regulation 10(5)(a) of the WEEE Regulations,

• (b) €1,000, where the relevant offence consists of a contravention of—

• (i) Regulation 17(3) or 21(1)(b) of the Batteries and Accumulators Regulations,

• (ii) Regulation 14(1)(b)(i), 14(1)(b)(iii), 20(a) or 22(1) of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations,

• (iii) Regulation 10(1)(b), 10(1)(c) or 10(1)(d) of the Packaging Regulations, or

• (iv) Regulation 10(7) or 15(1)(a)(ii) of the WEEE Regulations,

• (c) €500, where the relevant offence consists of a contravention of—

• (i) Regulation 21(4)(a) or 32(c) of the Batteries and Accumulators Regulations,

• (ii) Regulation 10(1)(a), 15(1)(b) or 15(2)(c) of the Packaging Regulations, or

• (iii) Regulation 13(5), 29(a)(i), 29(a)(ii) or 30(3) of the WEEE Regulations,

or

• (d) €100, where the relevant offence consists of contravention of Regulation 33 of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations.

• (5)
• (a) Moneys received by a local authority pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be lodged to the credit of the local fund maintained by the local authority concerned pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 97 of the Local Government Act 2001 and expended in accordance with that section.

• (b) Moneys received by the Agency pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be disposed of in a manner determined by the Agency with the prior consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

• (6)
• (a) In this section—

“authorised person” means—

• (i) in relation to a relevant offence referred to in paragraph (b)(i), an authorised person within the meaning of the Batteries and Accumulators Regulations,

• (ii) in relation to a relevant offence referred to in paragraph (b)(ii), an authorised person within the meaning of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations,

• (iii) in relation to a relevant offence referred to in paragraph (b)(iii), an authorised person within the meaning of the Packaging Regulations, and

• (iv) in relation to a relevant offence referred to in paragraph (b)(iv), an authorised person within the meaning of the WEEE Regulations;

“Batteries and Accumulators Regulations” means the European Union (Batteries and Accumulators) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 283 of 2014);

“End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations” means the European Union (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 281 of 2014);

“Packaging Regulations” means the European Union (Packaging) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 282 of 2014);

“WEEE Regulations” means the European Union (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. No. 149 of 2014).

• (b) In this section “relevant offence” means—

• (i) an offence under Regulation 47 of the Batteries and Accumulators Regulations consisting of a contravention of Regulation 17(3), 21(1)(b), 21(4)(a) or 32(c) of those regulations,

• (ii) an offence under Regulation 34 of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations consisting of a contravention of Regulation 14(1)(b)(i), 14(1)(b)(iii), 20(a), 22(1) or 33 of those regulations,

• (iii) an offence under Regulation 34 of the Packaging Regulations consisting of a contravention of Regulation 10(1)(a), 10(1)(b), 10(1)(c), 10(1)(d), 15(1)(b) or 15(2)(c) of those regulations, or

• (iv) an offence under Regulation 39 of the WEEE Regulations consisting of a contravention of Regulation 10(5)(a), 10(7), 13(5), 15(1)(a)(ii), 29(a)(i), 29(a)(ii) or 30(3) of those regulations.]

10B. F61[Fixed payment notice for certain offences relating to waste collection permit

10B.— (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence under section 34(1)(c), in so far as the offence consists of contravention of a condition attached, under section 34(7)(d), to a waste collection permit, the authorised person may give to the person a notice in writing (in this Act referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) in the prescribed form stating that—

• (a) the person is alleged to have committed that offence,

• (b) the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice make to the local authority concerned at the address specified in the notice a payment of €500 in respect of that offence, accompanied by the notice,

• (c) the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and

• (d) a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is given in respect of the offence will not be instituted during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of that offence will be instituted.

• (2) Where a fixed payment notice is given—

• (a) the person to whom it applies may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority concerned, at the address specified in the notice, the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice,

• (b) the local authority concerned shall receive the payment and shall, upon receipt of the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received shall not be recoverable by the person who made it and the local authority shall retain the money for disposal in accordance with subsection (4), and

• (c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

• (3) In proceedings for an offence under section 34(1)(c), in so far as the offence consists of contravention of a condition attached, under section 34(7)(d), to a waste collection permit, it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that he or she has made a payment, in accordance with this section, pursuant to a fixed payment notice issued in respect of that offence.

• (4) Moneys received by a local authority pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be lodged to the credit of the local fund maintained by the local authority concerned pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 97 of the Local Government Act 2001 and expended in accordance with that section.]

10C. F64[Fixed payment notice for certain offences relating to single use plastic

10C.— (1) Where an authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing that a person has committed an offence under the European Union (Single Use Plastic) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 and the offence is to be prosecuted summarily the authorised person may give to the person a notice in writing (in this Act referred to as a “fixed payment notice”) in the prescribed form stating that —

• (a) the person is alleged to have committed that offence,

• (b) the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice make to the local authority concerned or to the Agency, as appropriate, at the address specified in the notice a payment of € 2,000 in respect of that offence, accompanied by the notice,

• (c) the person is not obliged to make the payment specified in the notice, and

• (d) a prosecution of the person to whom the notice is given in respect of the offence will not be instituted during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of that offence will be instituted.

• (2) Where a fixed payment notice is given —

• (a) the person to whom it applies may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the local authority concerned or to the Agency, as appropriate, at the address specified in the notice, the payment specified in the notice,

• (b) the local authority concerned or the Agency, as appropriate, shall receive the payment and shall, upon receipt of the payment, issue a receipt for it and any payment so received shall not be recoverable by the person who made it and the local authority concerned or the Agency, as appropriate, shall retain the money for disposal in accordance with subsection (4), and

• (c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

• (3) In proceedings for an offence under the European Union (Single Use Plastic) (No. 2) Regulations 2021 it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that he or she has made a payment, in accordance with this section, pursuant to a fixed payment notice issued in respect of that offence.

• (4)
• (a) Moneys received by a local authority pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be lodged to the credit of the local fund maintained by the local authority concerned pursuant to, and in accordance with, section 97 of the Local Government Act 2001 and expended in accordance with that section.

• (b) Moneys received by the Agency pursuant to the giving of a fixed payment notice shall be disposed of in a manner determined by the Agency with the prior consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.]

11. Prosecution of offences.

11.—(1) Subject to subsection (5), summary proceedings for an offence under this Act may be brought by a local authority (whether or not the offence is committed in the authority’s functional area) or by the Agency.

• (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Minister may, by regulations, provide that summary proceedings for an offence aforesaid specified in the regulations may be brought by such person (including the Minister) as is so specified.

• (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, summary proceedings in relation to an offence under this Act may be commenced—

• (a) at any time within 12 months from the date on which the offence was committed, or

• (b) if, at the expiry of that period, the person against whom the proceedings are to be brought is outside the State, within 6 months of the date on which he or she next enters the State, or

• (c) at any time within 6 months from the date on which evidence that, in the opinion of the person by whom the proceedings are brought, is sufficient to justify the bringing of the proceedings, comes to such person’s knowledge,

whichever is the later, provided that no such proceedings shall be commenced later than 5 years from the date on which the offence concerned was committed.

• (4) For the purpose of this section, a certificate signed by or on behalf of the person bringing the proceedings as to the date on which evidence relating to the offence concerned came to his or her knowledge shall be prima facie evidence thereof and in any legal proceedings a document purporting to be a certificate issued for the purpose of this subsection and to be so signed shall be deemed to be so signed and shall be admitted as evidence without proof of the signature of the person purporting to sign the certificate.

• (5) Subject to any order under section 69, summary proceedings for an offence under this Act in respect of a failure to comply with a condition attached to a waste licence or any other requirements of or under this Act in relation to the carrying on of an activity, the subject of such a licence, may only be brought by the Agency.

11A. F65[Presumption in certain prosecutions.

11A.—In a prosecution for an offence under section 32(6) or 39(9) relating to the recovery or disposal of waste on, in, over or under any land where it is proved that, by reason of—

• (a) the nature of the particular recovery or disposal activity that was carried on,

• (b) the period of time over which it appears that activity was carried on,

• (c) the characteristics of the land and the degree of use or control it appears the owner of the land made of, or exercised in relation to, the land at the relevant time or times, or

• (d) any other relevant circumstances,

it is a reasonable inference that that recovery or disposal was carried on with the consent of the owner of the land then, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is shown, that that recovery or disposal was carried on with that owner’s consent.]

12. Cost of prosecutions.

12.—Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act in proceedings brought by a local authority, the Agency, or a person specified under section 11 (2), the court shall, unless it is satisfied that there are special and substantial reasons for not so doing, order the person to pay to the local authority, Agency or other person, as the case may be, the costs and expenses, measured by the court, incurred by the local authority, Agency or other person in relation to the investigation, detection and prosecution of the offence, including costs and expenses incurred in the taking of samples, the carrying out of tests, examinations and analyses and in respect of the remuneration and other expenses of directors, employees, consultants and advisers, as the case may be.

13. Payment of certain fines to local authority, Agency or other persons.

13.—Where a court imposes a fine or affirms or varies a fine imposed by another court for an offence under this Act in proceedings brought by a local authority, the Agency or a person specified under section 11(2) it shall, on the application of the local authority, the Agency or the said person, as the case may be (made before the time of such imposition, affirmation or variation), provide by order for the payment of the amount of the fine to the local authority, the Agency or the said person and such payment may be enforced by the local authority, the Agency or the said person, as the case may be, as if it were due to it or him or her on foot of a decree or order made by the court in civil proceedings.

14. Powers of authorised person.

14.—(1) An authorised person may, for any purpose connected with this Act—

• (a) at all reasonable times, or at any time if he or she has reasonable grounds for believing that there may be a risk of environmental pollution arising from the carrying on of an activity at the premises or that such pollution is occurring, enter any premises and bring thereon such other persons (including members of the Garda Síochána) or equipment as he or she may consider necessary for the purpose, and

• F66[(b) at any time halt (if necessary) and board any vehicle and have it taken, or require the driver of the vehicle to take it, to a place designated by the authorised person, and such a vehicle may be detained at that place by the authorised person for such period as he or she may consider necessary for the purpose.]

• (2) Subject to subsection(7), an authorised person shall not, other than with the consent of the occupier, enter into a private dwelling under this section unless he or she has given to the occupier of the dwelling not less than 24 hours notice in writing of his or her intended entry.

• (3) Every authorised person shall be furnished with a certificate of his or her appointment and when exercising any power conferred on him or her by or under this Act, the authorised person shall, if requested by any person affected, produce the certificate to that person.

• (4) Whenever an authorised person enters any premises or boards any vehicle, pursuant to this section, the authorised person may therein, as appropriate—

• (a) make such plans, take such photographs F67[, record such information on data loggers, make such tape, electrical, video or other recordings] and carry out such inspections,

• (b) make such tests F68[make such copies of documents and records (including records in electronic form) found therein and take such samples],

• (c) carry out such surveys, take such levels, make such excavations and carry out such examinations of depth and nature of subsoil,

• (d) require that the premises or vehicle or any part of the premises or anything in the premises or vehicle shall be left undisturbed for such period,

• (e) require from an occupier of the premises or any occupant of the vehicle or any person employed on the premises or any other person on the premises, such information,

• (f) require the production of and inspect such records and documents F69[, including records held in electronic form], and take copies of or extracts from, or take away if considered necessary for the purposes of inspection or examination, any such records or documents,

as the authorised person, having regard to all the circumstances, considers necessary for the purposes of exercising any power conferred on him or her by or under this Act.

• (5)
• (a) An authorised person who, having entered any premises or boarded any vehicle, pursuant to this section, considers that waste thereon or therein is such, or is being handled or transported in such manner, as to constitute a risk of environmental pollution, may direct the holder of such waste to take such measures as are considered by that authorised person to be necessary to remove that risk, including the disposal of the waste, in such manner and place and within such period as the authorised person may specify.

• (b) If a holder of waste fails to comply with a direction of an authorised person under this subsection, the authorised person may do all things as are necessary to ensure that the direction is carried out and the costs incurred by him or her in doing any such thing shall be recoverable from the holder of the waste by him or her, or the person by whom he or she was appointed, as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

• (6) Any person who—

• (a) refuses to allow an authorised person to enter any premises or board any vehicle or to take any person or equipment with him or her in the exercise of his or her powers under this section,

• (b) obstructs or impedes an authorised person in the exercise of any of his or her powers under this section,

• (c) gives either to an authorised person, a relevant local authority or the Agency, information which to his or her knowledge is false or misleading in a material respect, or

• (d) fails or refuses to comply with any requirement of this section or of an authorised person,

shall be guilty of an offence.

• (7)
• (a) Where an authorised person in the exercise of his or her powers under this section is prevented from entering any premises or if an authorised person has reason to believe that evidence related to a suspected offence under this Act may be present in any premises and that the evidence may be removed therefrom or destroyed, the authorised person or the person by whom he or she was appointed may apply to a judge of the District Court for a warrant under this subsection authorising the entry by the authorised person into the premises.

• (b) If on application being made to him or her under this subsection, a judge of the District Court is satisfied, on the sworn information of the applicant, that the authorised person concerned has been prevented from entering a premises as aforesaid or that the authorised person has reasonable grounds for believing the other matters aforesaid, the judge may issue a warrant under his or her hand authorising that person, accompanied, if the judge deems it appropriate so to provide, by such number of members of the Garda Síochána as may be specified in the warrant, at any time or times within 1 month from the date of the issue of the warrant, on production if so requested of the warrant, to enter, if need be by force, the premises concerned and exercise the powers referred to in subsection (4) or (5).

• (8) An authorised person may, in the exercise of any power conferred on him or her by this Act involving the bringing of any vehicle to any place, or where he or she anticipates any obstruction in the exercise of any other power conferred on him or her by or under this Act, request a member of the Garda Síochána to assist him or her in the exercise of such a power and any member of the Garda Síochána of whom he or she makes such a request shall comply therewith.

• (9) An authorised person may enter on land for the purpose of assessing the suitability of the land for waste disposal; such an entry shall be subject to the relevant provisions of section 83 (other than subsection (6)) of the Act of 1963 as if it were an entry made under that section.

• (10) The Minister may make regulations for the purposes of this section.

• (11) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (10), regulations under this section may provide for all or any of the following matters—

• (a) the taking of samples and the carrying out of tests, examinations and analyses,

• (b) the specification of the classes of persons to be responsible for taking such samples and for the carrying out of such tests, examinations and analyses, or

• (c) the specification of the certificate or other evidence to be given of the result of any such test, examination or analysis and the class or classes of person by whom such certificate or evidence is to be given.

• (12) Any certificate or other evidence given or to be given in respect of any prescribed test, examination or analysis of any sample shall in relation to that sample be evidence, without further proof, of the result of the test, examination or analysis unless the contrary is shown.

14A. F70[Operation of CCTV for certain purposes

14A.— (1) An authorised person may submit a proposal in accordance with subsection (4) for the installation and operation of closed circuit television in the functional area of, or any particular area within the functional area of, a local authority (in this Part referred to as "a CCTV scheme"), for the purposes of—

• (a) deterring environmental pollution, and

• (b) facilitating the deterrence, prevention, detection and prosecution of offences under this Act.

• (2) A proposal made under subsection (1) shall include—

• (a) details of the location, number and technical specification of the devices to be used in the CCTV scheme,

• (b) details of the geographical areas to be covered by the CCTV scheme,

• (c) a plan prepared in accordance with subsection (3) for the purposes of this paragraph in respect of the CCTV scheme, and

• (d) such other matters referred to in the code of practice approved under section 14C in respect of the operation of this section that relate to the installation and operation of the CCTV scheme.

• (3) A plan prepared for the purposes of subsection (2)(c)—

• (a) shall contain details of the arrangements proposed in respect of—

• (i) the monitoring, recording and disclosure of the images, sounds or documents, produced pursuant to the CCTV scheme, and

• (ii) the preservation of recordings made and documents produced pursuant to that scheme,

• (b) shall include a data protection impact assessment in respect of the CCTV scheme carried out in accordance with section 84 of the Data Protection Act 2018, and

• (c) shall comply with—

• (i) Part 5 of the Data Protection Act 2018, and

• (ii) the code of practice approved under section 14C for the purposes of the operation of this section.

• (4) A proposal under subsection (1) shall be submitted to the chief executive of the local authority in whose functional area, or part thereof, the proposed CCTV scheme is to operate and he or she shall decide whether or not to approve the proposal.

• (5) Subject to subsections (6) to (8), the chief executive—

• (a) may approve, or approve, subject to such modifications, terms and conditions (if any) as he or she considers appropriate, a proposal submitted to him or her under this section, and

• (b) where he or she approves a proposal, whether with or without modifications, terms and conditions, he or she shall specify the date on which the approval expires.

• (6) In deciding whether or not to approve a proposal under subsection (5), in considering what, if any, modifications, terms and conditions are appropriate and in specifying the date on which an approval is to expire, the chief executive shall consider the extent to which the proposal is proportionate to, and necessary for, the purposes referred to in subsection (1) and he or she shall not approve a proposal unless he or she is satisfied that the proposal is proportionate to, and necessary for, those purposes.

• (7) Where the chief executive approves a proposal under subsection (5)—

• (a) the approval shall—

• (i) be in writing,

• (ii) set out such modifications, terms and conditions (if any) as he or she considers appropriate, and

• (iii) state the date on which the approval shall expire, and

• (b) the CCTV scheme to which the approval relates shall be operated in accordance with the approval and with the code of practice approved under section 14C for the purposes of the operation of this section.

• (8) Subject to subsections (11), (12) and (13), an approval given under subsection (5) shall expire not later than the date that is 5 years from the date on which the approval was given.

• (9) The chief executive of a local authority in whose functional area, or part of whose functional area, an approved CCTV scheme is in operation and in respect of which an approval is in being—

• (i) may, at any time, and

• (ii) shall, not later than 5 years from the date on which the approval in respect of the CCTV scheme was given under subsection (5) and thereafter at intervals of not more than 5 years from the date of the immediately preceding review,

cause a review of the operation of that scheme to be carried out by an authorised person.

• (10) An authorised person carrying out a review pursuant to this section shall consider—

• (a) whether the approved CCTV scheme is being operated—

• (i) in accordance with the approval in respect of the scheme, and

• (ii) in compliance with the code of practice approved under section 14C for the purposes of the operation of this section,

• (b) the extent to which the operation of the scheme during the period in respect of which the review is being conducted has been, and remains, successful, proportionate and necessary having regard to the purposes referred to in subsection (1), and