Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019.

(2) Part 3 and the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2018 may be cited together as the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2019 and shall be construed together as one.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may by order or orders appoint either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

2. Interpretation

2. (1) In this Act—

“Act of 2000” means the Planning and Development Act 2000;

“Act of 2001” means the Local Government Act 2001;

“Aircraft Noise Regulation” means Regulation (EU) No 598/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014[^1] on the establishment of rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at Union airports within a Balanced Approach and repealing Directive 2002/30/EC;

“airport” means Dublin Airport and includes, as appropriate, the area around the airport significantly affected by aircraft noise;

“airport authority” means daa, public limited company;

“airport user” means a person responsible for the carriage of passengers, mail or freight by air to or from the airport;

“appeal body” shall be construed in accordance with section 10 (1);

“Board” means An Bord Pleanála;

“competent authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 3;

“Environmental Noise Directive” means Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002[^2] relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1137/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2008[^3] adapting a number of instruments subject to the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty to Council Decision 1999/468/EC, with regard to the regulatory procedure with scrutiny and Commission Directive (EU) 2015/996 of 19 May 2015[^4] establishing common noise assessment methods according to Directive 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;

“FCC” means Fingal County Council;

“introduce” includes implement;

“local financial year” means local financial year with the meaning of section 96 of the Act of 2001;

“measure” includes a restriction;

“Minister” means the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport;

“national newspaper” means a newspaper published and circulating generally in the State;

“noise” means aircraft noise;

“noise abatement objective” means the noise abatement objective for the airport;

“noise mitigation measure” means a noise mitigation measure in place at the airport but does not include an operating restriction;

“operating restriction” means an operating restriction in place at the airport;

“specified”, in relation to a form, means specified under section 28.

(2) A word or expression that is used in this Act and is also used in—

(a) the Aircraft Noise Regulation, or

(b) the Environmental Noise Directive,

has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in this Act as it has in that Regulation or Directive, as the case may be.

(3) (a) A reference in this Act or in any regulations made under this Act to a period specified in a notice or direction given under this Act or in such regulations means a period reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.

(b) Where calculating any appropriate period or other time limit referred to in this Act or in any regulations made under this Act, the period between the 24th of December and the 1st of January, both days inclusive, shall be disregarded.

3. Designation of competent authority

3. (1) FCC is designated as the competent authority for the purposes of the Aircraft Noise Regulation.

(2) (a) Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), the functions of the competent authority under the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000 (in so far as the Act of 2000 as amended by this Act confers functions on the competent authority) shall be performed by the chief executive.

(b) Sections 148 and 154 of the Act of 2001 shall, with all necessary modifications, apply to the chief executive, this Act and the Act of 2000 as those sections apply to the chief executive and the Act of 2001.

(c) The reference in subsection (6) of section 149 of the Act of 2001 to the functions of the chief executive shall not include the functions referred to in paragraph (a).

(3) Subject to the other provisions of this section, the functions of the competent authority shall be treated as an executive function, within the meaning of section 149 of the Act of 2001, of FCC.

(4) The chief executive shall be independent in the performance of the functions of the competent authority.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4)—

(a) the chief executive in performing the functions of the competent authority, and

(b) any employee of FCC assisting the chief executive in the performance of such functions,

shall not be subject to the direction of any other person (including the elected council acting by resolution under section 140 of the Act of 2001).

(6) The chief executive, in performing the functions of the competent authority, may, to the extent that he or she is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, have regard to any plan adopted by the elected council pursuant to the functions of the elected council.

(7) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the members of the elected council shall not influence or seek to influence—

(i) the chief executive in his or her performance of a function of the competent authority, or

(ii) an employee of FCC in the assistance that he or she provides to the chief executive in the performance of such function.

(b) Paragraph (a) shall not be construed to prevent the members of the elected council from discussing the noise situation at the airport relevant to the performance of the functions of the elected council.

(8) Nothing in this section shall operate to prevent a member of the elected council from making a submission or observation to the competent authority pursuant to and in accordance with a provision of the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act or the Act of 2000.

(9) (a) The Minister shall, not less than once before—

(i) the 7th anniversary of the date of commencement of this section, and

(ii) the expiration of each successive period of 5 years following that 7th anniversary,

by notice in writing appoint a person to carry out a review of the performance by the competent authority of its functions as the competent authority.

(b) A person appointed under paragraph (a) shall, as soon as is practicable after he or she has carried out the review referred to in that paragraph, prepare and submit to the Minister a report in writing on the results of the review.

(c) The competent authority shall, as soon as is practicable after the expiration of a local financial year of the competent authority (including, if applicable, the expiration of part of such year in the case of the first report prepared and published pursuant to this paragraph) but, in any case, not later than 3 months after such expiration, prepare, and publish on its website, a report—

(i) in relation to the performance of its functions during such year, and

(ii) setting out the competent authority’s work programme for the performance of its functions in the competent authority’s current local financial year.

(10) In this section—

“chief executive”, in relation to FCC, means the chief executive of FCC for the purposes of section 144 of the Act of 2001;

“elected council” means the elected council, within the meaning of section 2 of the Act of 2001, of FCC.

4. Exclusive competence of competent authority in relation to operating restrictions

4. (1) Notwithstanding any other enactment or rule of law but subject to section 10, section 34 of the Act of 2000 as read with section 34B or 34C, as appropriate, of that Act, and section 37 of that Act as read with section 37R or 37S, as appropriate, of that Act, the competent authority shall, in accordance with the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000, have exclusive competence to impose, revoke, revoke and replace, or amend the terms of, an operating restriction.

(2) Subject to section 10, section 34 of the Act of 2000 as read with section 34B or 34C, as appropriate, of that Act, and section 37 of that Act as read with section 37R or 37S, as appropriate, of that Act, the following are, by virtue of this subsection, void:

(a) any restriction, to the extent that it purports to be an operating restriction, imposed, on or after the commencement of this section, by a person other than the competent authority;

(b) any revocation, revocation and replacement, or amendment of the terms, of an operating restriction purporting to be effected, on or after the commencement of this section, by a person other than the competent authority.

5. Airport levy

5. (1) In this section, “competent authority regulations” means regulations made by the competent authority under subsection (4).

(2) The airport authority shall be liable to pay a monthly, biannual or annual charge (in this section referred to as the “airport levy”) in respect of the costs incurred by the competent authority in the performance of its functions under the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000.

(3) The airport levy shall be paid to the competent authority on or before the date prescribed for the purpose in the competent authority regulations, in respect of the period concerned and in the manner prescribed for the purpose in such regulations.

(4) The competent authority shall, as soon as is practicable after the commencement of this section, prescribe by regulations the airport levy to be paid having regard to the costs incurred or reasonably expected to be incurred by the competent authority in the performance of its functions under the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000.

(5) The amount of the airport levy shall not exceed those sums necessary to fund the competent authority in the performance of its functions under the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000 and may only be applied by the competent authority towards such funding or towards meeting any other costs reasonably arising in the course of the performance of such functions.

(6) Any surplus of airport levy income over costs referred to in this section incurred over a particular local financial year of the competent authority shall be—

(a) retained by the competent authority to be offset against such costs for the subsequent such year, or

(b) returned to the airport authority.

(7) The competent authority may recover, as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction, from the airport authority the airport levy (or any part thereof) due and owing to it.

(8) The competent authority shall ensure that its costs in the performance of its functions under the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000 are kept to a minimum and are not excessive.

(9) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prejudice the generality of any other provision of this Act under which the airport authority may be required to pay a fee.

6. Regulations

6. (1) The Minister may by regulations provide for such additional, incidental, consequential or supplemental matters as the Minister considers necessary or expedient for the purposes of giving the Aircraft Noise Regulation full effect.

(2) Every regulation made under a provision of this Act, other than under section 9(9), shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.

(3) Either House of the Oireachtas may, by a resolution passed within 21 sitting days after the day on which a regulation is laid before it under subsection (2), annul the regulation.

(4) The annulment of a regulation under subsection (3) takes effect immediately on the passing of the resolution concerned, but does not affect the validity of anything done under the regulation before the passing of the resolution.

(5) A regulation may be made under section 9(9) only if—

(a) a draft of the proposed regulation has been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, and

(b) a resolution approving the draft has been passed by each House.

7. Expenses

7. Any expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

8. Revocation

8. The European Communities (Air Navigation and Transport Rules and Procedures for Noise Related Operating Restrictions at Airports) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 645 of 2003) are revoked.

PART 2 Process of Aircraft Noise Regulation (Including Adoption of Balanced Approach) and Appeals

9. Process of Aircraft Noise Regulation

9. (1) The competent authority shall ensure that the noise situation at the airport is assessed in accordance with the European Communities (Environmental Noise) Regulations 2018 (S.I. No. 549 of 2018) and the Environmental Noise Directive.

(2) The competent authority shall ensure that the Balanced Approach is adopted where a noise problem at the airport has been identified and, to that end, shall further ensure that, as appropriate:

(a) the noise abatement objective is, as appropriate, defined, restated or amended, taking into account, as appropriate, Article 8 of, and Annex V to, the Environmental Noise Directive;

(b) measures available to reduce the noise impact are identified;

(c) the likely cost-effectiveness of the identified noise mitigation measures and operating restrictions (if any) is thoroughly evaluated;

(d) the measures, taking into account public interest in the field of air transport as regards the development prospects of the airport, are selected without detriment to safety;

(e) the stakeholders are consulted in a transparent way on the intended actions;

(f) the measures are adopted and sufficient notification is provided for;

(g) the measures are introduced.

(3) The competent authority shall ensure that, when noise-related action (including a noise mitigation measure or operating restriction) is taken, the following combination of available measures is considered, with a view to determining the most cost-effective measure or combination of measures:

(a) the foreseeable effect of a reduction of noise at source;

(b) land-use planning and management;

(c) noise abatement operational procedures;

(d) not applying operating restrictions as a first resort but only after consideration of the other measures of the Balanced Approach.

(4) The available measures may, if necessary, include the withdrawal of marginally compliant aircraft.

(5) The measures may, within the Balanced Approach, be differentiated according to aircraft type, noise performance, use of airport and air navigation facilities, flight path or the timeframe covered or any combination thereof.

(6) Without prejudice to subsection (4), operating restrictions which take the form of the withdrawal of marginally compliant aircraft from airport operations shall not affect civil subsonic aircraft that comply, through either original certification or re-certification, with the noise standard laid down in Volume 1, Part II, Chapter 4 of Annex 16 to the Chicago Convention.

(7) (a) Measures or a combination of measures taken in accordance with the Aircraft Noise Regulation, this Act and the Act of 2000 for the airport shall not be more restrictive than is necessary in order to achieve the noise abatement objective.

(b) Operating restrictions shall be non-discriminatory, in particular on the grounds of nationality or identity, and shall not be arbitrary.

(8) (a) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that FCC, in its capacity as the competent authority, is a public authority within the meaning of Regulation 2 of the Regulations of 2011.

(b) The competent authority shall, before making its draft regulatory decision under subsection (11), ensure that it has complied with the relevant provisions of Part 5 of the Regulations of 2011 and, if an appropriate assessment is carried out, that such decision, when made, is compatible with such assessment.

(c) The competent authority shall, before making its draft regulatory decision under subsection (11), ensure that it has complied with the relevant provisions of the Regulations of 2004 and, if an environmental assessment is carried out, that such decision, when made, is compatible with such assessment.

(d) The competent authority may, where it considers it appropriate to do so, whether following a screening for appropriate assessment under Part 5 of the Regulations of 2011, or an environmental assessment, or on its own initiative, by notice in writing direct the airport authority to make an application referred to in section 34C(1)(a) of the Act of 2000.

(e) The airport authority shall comply with a direction given to it under paragraph (d) as soon as is practicable after it receives the notice concerned referred to in that paragraph.

(9) The Minister may, by regulations made under section 6, prescribe dispute resolution procedures applicable to a dispute which arises between the competent authority and another person during the course of, and relevant to, the performance by the competent authority of its functions.

(10) (a) The competent authority may, for the purposes of an assessment of the noise situation at the airport, by notice in writing direct the airport authority to carry out such assessments and give to it such information or plans arising from such assessments, or to give to it such other information or plans, or both, as specified in the notice, as the competent authority may reasonably require for those purposes.

(b) The airport authority shall comply with a direction given to it under paragraph (a) as soon as is practicable after it receives the notice concerned referred to in that paragraph.

(11) Subject to subsection (12), the competent authority shall, as soon as is practicable after having ensured that the Balanced Approach has been applied, make, and publish on its website, a draft regulatory decision outlining the proposed noise mitigation measures and operating restrictions (if any) to be introduced in order to address any identified noise problem at the airport.