Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022

(a) the form and content of a notification under the said Regulation 27 seeking a determination or under the said Regulation 28 seeking a decision and provision may be made for different forms and content for different circumstances or classes of circumstances or for different cases or classes of cases;

(b) the time within which a notification is to be made;

(c) the particulars, including, plans, documents and other information, to be submitted to the Agency for the purposes of the notification and the period within which they are to be submitted;

(d) requirements in relation to the submission by the person making that notification of such additional information or particulars relating to the notification to the Agency, including the period within which such additional information or particulars are to be submitted;

(e) the processing by the Agency of notifications;

(f) requirements in relation to the person making a notification defraying or contributing towards the cost of any investigation carried out, caused to be carried out, or arranged for, by the Agency in relation to the notification;

(g) the storage, movement, disposal, or other handling or processing of any material that is the subject of a notification either before or after a determination or decision, as the case may be, is made in respect of the notification;

(h) the nature of materials, including restrictions on particular materials, in respect of which a notification may be made;

(i) the circumstances in which the Agency or other public authority or body, as the case may be, may reject or refuse to consider a notification;

(j) the circumstances in which the Agency may waive the requirement for a notification;

(k) the attachment by the Agency of conditions to a determination or decision;

(l) the establishment and maintenance by the Agency of a register or registers in respect of such materials or classes of materials as may be specified in the regulations, and the conditions to be satisfied in respect of those materials or classes of materials in order to be registered;

(m) such incidental, supplementary, consequential or transitional provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary for the purposes or in consequence of, or to give full effect to, the regulations.

(3) Regulations made under subsection (1) may provide for—

(a) the payment of fees,

(b) exemption from the payment of fees, or

(c) the waiver, remission, or refund (in whole or in part) of fees,

and different fees, exemptions, waivers, remissions or refunds may be provided for in different circumstances or classes of circumstances or for different cases or classes of cases.

(4) Where, under regulations made under subsection (1), a fee is payable in respect of a notification, the notification shall be deemed not to have been made until the date on which the Agency receives the fee.

(5) A person who, in relation to any matter to which regulations under this section relates, makes a statement in writing which, to his knowledge is false or misleading in a material respect, shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) A defrayment or contribution the payment of which is required under regulations made under this section shall be payable on demand and, in default of being so paid, shall be recoverable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.”.

PART 4 Amendments to Act of 1997

31. Amendment of section 2 of Act of 1997

31. Section 2 of the Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following definitions:

“‘Act of 2022’ means the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022;

‘approval’, in relation to a proposal under section 23A, means an approval given under section 23A(5) or renewed under section 23A(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;

‘authorised person’ means a person who is appointed in writing by a local authority to be an authorised person for the purposes of this Act or any provisions thereof as the local authority determines;

‘automatic number plate recognition device’ means a device which engages an automated method of recognising vehicle registration plates from a camera image;

‘biometric data’ has the meaning given to it by section 69(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018;

‘CCTV scheme’ has the meaning given to it by section 23A(1);

‘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 23B and includes part of a code of practice;

‘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;

‘operation’, in relation to closed circuit television, includes the maintenance and monitoring of closed circuit television;

‘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;”.

32. Operation of CCTV for certain purposes

32. (1) The Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 23:

“23A. (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 section 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 for the purposes of this paragraph in accordance with subsection (3) in respect of the CCTV scheme, and

(d) such other matters referred to in the code of practice approved under section 23B 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 23B 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 the 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 23B 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—

(a) may, at any time, and

(b) 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 23B 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

(c) such other matters that he or she considers appropriate having regard to the purposes referred to in subsection (1).

(11) Without prejudice to subsection (12), following a review carried out under subsection (10), the chief executive shall decide whether to—

(a) renew the approval given in respect of the scheme, subject to such modifications, terms and conditions, if any, as he or she considers appropriate, or

(b) revoke the approval,

and subsections (6) to (10) shall, with any necessary modifications, apply in respect of the decision of the chief executive under this subsection and, where renewed, the approval as so renewed.

(12) The chief executive may at any time revoke an approval where the CCTV scheme to which the approval relates has been operated otherwise than—

(a) in accordance with the approval, or

(b) in accordance with the code of practice for the time being approved under section 23B for the purposes of the operation of this section.

(13) Where, in relation to an approved CCTV scheme, it is proposed that there are to be changes to the scheme, other than repairs or modifications that do not alter the extent of the coverage of the scheme or the capability of the devices used in the scheme an authorised person shall make a proposal under subsection (1) in respect of those changes and this section shall apply, with any necessary modifications, in respect of that proposal and where an approval is given in respect of that new proposal, the existing approval shall be revoked.

(14) Where an approval—

(a) expires and is not renewed, or

(b) is revoked by the chief executive under this section,

the local authority shall, not later than one month after the date on which the approval expired or is revoked, as the case may be, terminate the operation of the CCTV scheme concerned.

(15) Notice of the approval, review or revocation of a proposal under this section shall be published on the website of the local authority concerned.

(16) In this section, ‘chief executive’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Local Government Act 2001.”.

(2) The Minister shall not make an order under section 1(2) for the purposes of bringing subsection (1) into operation until such time as a code of practice in respect of the operation of section 23A (inserted by subsection (1)) of the Act of 1997 has been approved by the Minister under section 23B (inserted by section 33) of that Act and laid before each House of the Oireachtas in accordance with that section.

33. Code of practice for purposes of section 23A

33. The Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 23A (inserted by section 32):

“23B. (1) The Local Government Management Agency shall, as soon as practicable after the coming into operation of section 33 of the Act of 2022, prepare and submit to the Minister for his or her approval a draft code of practice for the purposes of setting standards for the operation of section 23A.

(2) A draft code of practice referred to in subsection (1) shall include provisions in relation to the following:

(a) the procedures and standards to be followed in the operation of section 23A including in the installation of devices to be used in a CCTV scheme;

(b) confidentiality, security, storage, access to, retention, deletion and any other processing of, data gathered in accordance with section 23A;

(c) the circumstances in which data gathered under section 23A is to be disposed of or destroyed;

(d) the rights of data subjects in so far as they relate to the operation of section 23A;

(e) such other matters, if any, related to the operation of section 23A that the Local Government Management Agency considers appropriate,

and the code of practice may contain different provisions in relation to different types of devices or systems, in relation to different categories of persons and in relation to the different circumstances in which such devices or systems are operated.

(3) In preparing a draft code of practice under this section, the Local Government Management Agency—

(a) shall carry out or cause to be carried out on its behalf an assessment of the likely impact on data subjects of the types of processing of personal data contemplated by section 23A,

(b) shall ensure that the assessment referred to in paragraph (a) contains the following:

(i) a general description of the type of processing operations to which the assessment relates;

(ii) an assessment of the potential risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects as a result of that processing;

(iii) a description of any safeguards, security measures or mechanisms proposed to be implemented by the local authority to mitigate any risk referred to in subparagraph (ii) and to ensure the protection of personal data in relation to the types of processing contemplated by section 23B,

and

(c) shall ensure that the draft code takes account of the assessment referred to in paragraph (a).

(4) Before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under this section, the Local Government Management Agency—

(a) shall consult with—

(i) the Minister,

(ii) the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage,

(iii) the Minister for Justice, and

(iv) the Data Protection Commission,

(b) shall provide the assessment referred to in subsection (3) to the persons referred to in paragraph (a) before consulting with those persons, and

(c) may consult with any other person or body appearing to the Local Government Management Agency to have an interest in the operation of section 23A and such other person that the Minister may direct.

(5) The Minister may approve, with or without modifications, a code of practice submitted to him or her under this section.

(6) The Local Government Management Agency shall ensure that a code of practice approved by the Minister under this section is reviewed by it on a regular basis with the first review to be not later than 5 years from the date on which the code is first approved by the Minister, and, in the case of each subsequent review, not later than 5 years from the date of the previous review.

(7) The Local Government Management Agency shall consult with the persons referred to in subsection (4) when conducting a review under subsection (6).

(8) The Minister shall be informed in writing of the outcome of a review under subsection (6).

(9) The Local Government Management Agency, following a review under subsection (6) or at any other time that it considers appropriate, may submit a further draft code of practice to the Minister to amend, revoke or replace, an existing code of practice, or to create a new code of practice or may request the Minister to renew the code which was the subject of the review.

(10) Subject to subsection (11), subsections (2) to (9) shall apply in relation to a draft code of practice submitted to the Minister under subsection (9) or to a request to renew an existing code as they apply to a draft code of practice submitted to the Minister under subsection (1).

(11) Subsection (10) shall not apply where the amendments being made to a code of practice are minor or technical only.

(12) A code of practice renewed or approved, as the case may be, by the Minister under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas by the Local Government Management Agency and shall be published on a website maintained by or on behalf of the Minister or the Government.”.

34. Admissibility of evidence obtained under section 23A

34. The Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 23B (inserted by section 33):

“23C. (1) Evidence obtained under section 23A—

(a) may be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings, and

(b) shall not require the device from which it was obtained be exhibited in court proceedings.

(2) Nothing in section 23A is to be construed as prejudicing the admissibility of information or material obtained otherwise than as a result of operating a recording device under the provisions of this Act.

(3) Information obtained as a result of the operation of an approved CCTV scheme may be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings notwithstanding any error or omission on the face of the approval given in respect of the scheme concerned, if the court, having regard in particular to the matters specified in subsection (4), decides that—

(a) the error or omission concerned was inadvertent, and

(b) the information ought to be admitted in the interests of justice.

(4) The matters referred to in subsection (3) are—

(a) whether the error or omission concerned was serious or merely technical in nature,

(b) the nature of any right infringed by the manner in which the information was obtained,

(c) whether there were circumstances of urgency relating to the giving of the approval, or

(d) the probative value of the information concerned.

(5) A failure to observe any provision of section 23A or of any code of practice approved under section 23B on the part of any local authority or authorised person, shall not (without prejudice to the power of the court to exclude evidence) of itself affect the admissibility of any evidence thereby obtained.

(6) It shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that—

(a) any device used in an approved CCTV scheme for the purposes of this Act is a device capable of producing accurate information or material without the necessity of proving that that device was in good working order,

(b) the information produced by the device, and any copies thereof, is accurate, and

(c) the device was operated in accordance with the relevant code of practice approved under section 23B in respect of its operation.

(7) A person who—

(a) falsifies, conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of, information gathered by a recording device while it was or is being operated under this Act,

(b) permits the falsification, concealment, destruction or disposal, of such information, or

(c) knowingly causes damage to or destroys a recording device,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(8) A person shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (7) where he or she—

(a) destroys or disposes, or

(b) permits the destruction or disposal,

of information gathered by a recording device in accordance with a code of practice made under section 23B or otherwise in accordance with law.”.

35. Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1997

35. Section 24 of the Act of 1997 is amended by the substitution of “under this Act, other than under section 23C,” for “under this Act” in each place where it occurs.

36. Amendment of section 28 of Act of 1997

36. Section 28 of the Act of 1997 is amended in subsection (1) (b) by the substitution of “€250” for “€150”.

PART 5 Natural Resources

Chapter 1 Amendment of Minerals Development Act 1940

37. Amendment of section 8 of Minerals Development Act 1940

37. Section 8 of the Minerals Development Act 1940 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(1A) A prospecting licence granted by the Minister under this section after the coming into operation of section 37 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022 shall not permit prospecting for coal, lignite or oil shale.”.

Chapter 2 Amendments to Minerals Development Act 2017

38. Amendment of section 17 of Minerals Development Act 2017

38. Section 17 of the Minerals Development Act 2017 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(4) A prospecting licence granted by the Minister under this section after the coming into operation of section 38 of the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022, shall not permit prospecting for coal, lignite or oil shale.”.

39. Amendment of section 65 of Minerals Development Act 2017

39. Section 65 of the Minerals Development Act 2017 is amended by the substitution of “specified minerals other than coal, lignite and oil shales” for “specified minerals”.

40. Amendment of section 66 of Minerals Development Act 2017

40. Section 66 of the Minerals Development Act 2017 is amended by the substitution of “additional minerals other than coal, lignite and oil shales” for “additional minerals”.

PART 6 Amendment of Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992

41. Amendment of section 87 of Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992

41. Section 87 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (1A), in paragraph (b) of the definition of “application for permission”, by the insertion of “181(2A),” after “177AE,”,

(b) in subsection (1B)—

(i) by the insertion of “or that involves development that is carried out or is proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government pursuant to an order made, or proposed to be made, under section 181(2)(a) of the Act of 2000 (in this section referred to as a ‘section 181(2)(a) order’),” after “grant of permission is required”,

(ii) in paragraph (a)(ii), by the insertion of “or was exempted, in accordance with that Act, from being so required” after “Act of 2000”, and

(iii) in paragraph (b)—

(I) by the insertion of “, or where a section 181(2)(a) order has been made, a copy of that order,” after “by the planning authority concerned or An Bord Pleanála”, and

(II) in subparagraph (ii), by the insertion of “or was exempted, in accordance with that Act, from being so required” after “Act of 2000”,

(c) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1C):

“(1C) Where an application for a licence is made to the Agency in respect of an activity referred to in subsection (1B) but the applicant does not comply with that subsection, the Agency shall refuse to consider that application and shall inform the applicant accordingly.”,

(d) in subsection (1D), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d):

“(d) ensure that—

(i) a grant of permission has been made or a decision has been made to refuse a grant of permission for development comprising or for the purposes of the activity to which the application for the licence relates and the period for any appeal under section 37 of the Act of 2000 has expired without an appeal being made before notifying under section 87(2), indicating its proposed determination in relation to the application for a licence, or

(ii) a section 181(2)(a) order has been made for development comprising or for the purposes of the activity to which the application for the licence relates or An Bord Pleánala has refused to grant approval under section 181(2L) of the Act of 2000 in respect of the development before notifying under section 87(2), indicating its proposed determination in relation to the application for a licence.”,

(e) in subsection (1E)—

(i) in paragraph (a)(i), by the insertion of “or by an approval granted under section 181(2L) of the Act of 2000, as the case may be,” after “referred to in subsection (1B)(b) ”, and

(ii) in paragraph (a) (ii), by the insertion of “or an approval granted under section 181(2L) of the Act of 2000, as the case may be,” after “referred to in subsection (1B)(b) ”,

(f) in subsection (2), by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (aa):

“(ab) where a section 181(2)(a) order has been made for development comprising or for the purposes of the activity to which the application for a licence relates, the Minister who made the order,”, and

(g) in subsection (8) (a)—

(i) in subparagraph (iia), by the substitution of “An Bord Pleanála,” for “An Bord Pleanála.”, and

(ii) by the insertion of the following subparagraph after subparagraph (iia):

“(iib) where a section 181(2)(a) order has been made for development comprising or for the purposes of the activity to which the application for a licence relates, the Minister who made the order,”.

PART 7 Amendment of Electricity Regulation Act 1999

42. Amendment of Electricity Regulation Act 1999

42. The Electricity Regulation Act 1999 is amended—

(a) in section 11(1), by the insertion of “or a registration granted under Part IIIA” after “authorisation”;

(b) in section 12, by the insertion of “or a registration granted under Part IIIA” after “authorisation”, and

(c) by the insertion of the following Part after section 28:

“PART IIIA

Registration of market participants that are not electricity undertakings

Interpretation (Part IIIA)

28A. In this Part—

‘active customer’ means a final customer, or a group of jointly acting final customers, who consumes or stores electricity generated within its premises located within confined boundaries or, where so provided for in rules made by the Commission in that regard under Regulation 10 of the Regulations of 2022, within other premises, or who sells self-generated electricity or participates in flexibility or energy efficiency schemes, provided that those activities do not constitute its primary commercial or professional activity;

‘electricity activity’ means—

(a) in relation to a relevant market participant other than a relevant market participant that is an active customer or a citizen energy community, an activity referred to in the definition of “market participant” in Article 2(25) of the 2019 Internal Electricity Market Regulation,

(b) in relation to a relevant market participant that is an active customer, an activity referred to in the definition of “active customer” in Regulation 2(1) of the Regulations of 2022, and

(c) in relation to a relevant market participant that is a citizen energy community, an activity referred to in paragraph (c) of the definition of “citizen energy community” in section 2(1).

‘Register’ means the register established and maintained under section 28AB;

‘registration’ means a registration granted to a relevant market participant by the Commission under section 28AE;

‘Regulations of 2022’ means the European Union (Renewable Energy) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 76 of 2022);

‘relevant market participant’ means a market participant that is not an electricity undertaking;

‘terms and conditions’ means terms and conditions specified in a registration for the purpose of ensuring compliance by a relevant market participant with the obligations referred to in Article 59(1)(b) of the 2019 Internal Electricity Market Directive in so far as those obligations relate to the relevant market participant.

Register of relevant market participants

28AB. (1) The Commission shall establish and maintain a register of relevant market participants registered under this Part which shall, in particular, include—

(a) the name of the relevant market participant,

(b) the names, addresses and contact numbers of relevant contact persons, including, in the case of a body corporate, the names, addresses and contact details of the directors of the company,

(c) the address of the relevant market participant or in the case of a body corporate, its registered office,

(d) the electricity activity that is the subject of the registration,

(e) the date on which the relevant market participant will commence the electricity activity that is the subject of the registration.

(2) The Register may be in book form, electronic form or such other form as the Commission may determine.

(3) The holder of a registration to which an entry in the Register relates, shall as soon as practicable after the holder becomes aware of any error in the entry, or any change in circumstances that is likely to have a bearing on the accuracy of the entry, give notice in writing to the Commission of the error, or change in circumstances, as the case may be.

Registration for purpose of engaging in electricity activity

28AC. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a relevant market participant who wishes to engage in an electricity activity may not engage in the activity unless the relevant market participant has been registered under this Part in respect of that activity.

(2) (a) The Commission may, by order, specify—

(i) a class or classes of relevant market participant who are not required to be registered under this Part, or

(ii) a class or classes of electricity activity the engaging in which by relevant market participants does not require the relevant market participants to be registered under this Part,

or both.

(b) In specifying a class or classes of relevant market participant for the purposes of paragraph (a)(i), the Commission shall have regard to—

(i) the obligations of the class or classes of relevant market participant concerned were the class or classes concerned to be required to register, and

(ii) the requirements of Regulations 3(2)(a) and 7(3)(b) of the Regulations of 2022.

(c) In specifying a class or classes of electricity activity for the purposes of paragraph (a)(ii), the Commission shall specify the class or classes by reference to the scale of the class or classes of electricity activities concerned.

(d) The Commission may by order amend or revoke an order under this subsection.

(e) The Commission shall not make an order under this subsection unless a notice of intention to make such an order is published on its website at least one month before the making of the order.

(f) The draft order shall be published by the Commission in such manner as it shall determine, so as to bring it to the attention of those likely to be affected by it and the notice of intention published under paragraph (e) shall state the manner in which a copy of the draft order may be obtained.

(3) An application to be registered shall be made in accordance with section 28AD.

Application for registration

28AD. (1) An application by a relevant market participant for registration under this Part shall—

(a) be in writing,

(b) specify—

(i) the name of the relevant market participant proposing to engage in the electricity activity that is to be the subject of the registration, including, in the case of a body corporate, the company registration number,

(ii) the names, addresses and contact numbers of relevant contact persons including, in the case of a body corporate, the names, addresses and contact details of the directors of the company,

(iii) the address of the relevant market participant or in the case of a body corporate, the address of its registered office,

(iv) the electricity activity that is to be the subject of the registration,

(v) the date on which it is estimated that the relevant market participant will commence the electricity activity that is to be the subject of the registration,

(c) be in such form, contain such other information and be accompanied by such documents, if any, as the Commission shall specify on its website in accordance with subsection (3), and

(d) be accompanied by such fee as the Commission may determine.

(2) The Commission may request an applicant to provide it with such additional information and documents as the Commission may reasonably request for the purpose of the application and where such a request is made the applicant shall provide such information and documents to the Commission.

(3) The Commission shall publish on its website the procedures for making an application under this section and any other requirements relating to the making of such an application.

Consideration of application by Commission

28AE. (1) The Commission shall grant an application for registration duly made in accordance with section 28AD by a relevant market participant who is required, pursuant to section 28AC, to be registered, unless the Commission is satisfied, having regard to the application and the information and documentation (if any) provided to it under section 28AD, that the relevant market participant concerned would, if registered, not be able to comply with the terms and conditions to be specified in the registration.

(2) Where an application for registration is granted, the registration granted shall be subject to such terms and conditions as may be specified in the registration and the Commission shall—

(a) record the appropriate particulars in the Register, and

(b) issue the relevant market participant with a registration permitting it to engage in the electricity activity concerned in accordance with the registration and the terms and conditions specified therein.

(3) (a) Where the Commission proposes to refuse an application for registration it shall give a written notice of the proposal to refuse to the relevant market participant concerned and the notice shall—

(i) state the reasons for the proposal to refuse, and

(ii) specify the period (being not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice is given) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposal to refuse may be made.

(b) The Commission shall consider such representations or objections, if any, as are made under paragraph (a) and not withdrawn and shall respond in writing to the relevant market participant concerned in respect of any such representations and objections within a reasonable period of the Commission having received them.

(c) Where the Commission, having considered such, if any, representations or objections referred to in paragraph (b), decides to refuse to grant the application, it shall give a written notice of the decision to the applicant accordingly and such notice shall state the reasons for the decision and inform the applicant that it may, within a period of 28 days from the date the notice is given, appeal the decision to the Circuit Court.

(d) On hearing an appeal under paragraph (c) in relation to the decision of the Commission to refuse to grant the application, the Court may either confirm the decision or allow the appeal and where the appeal is allowed, the Commission shall grant the application and subsection (2) shall apply accordingly.

Modification of registration

28AF. (1) Where the Commission is of the opinion that a registration granted to a relevant market participant under this Part, including any terms and conditions specified in the registration, should be modified, it may make such modification in accordance with this section.

(2) Where the Commission proposes to make a modification under subsection (1), it shall serve a written notice of the proposal on the relevant market participant concerned and the notice shall—

(a) state the nature of the modification,

(b) state the date on which it is proposed the modification is to come into effect, which date shall be stated to be subject to the making of representations or objections or the taking of an appeal, under this section in respect of the modification,

(c) state the reasons for the modification, and

(d) specify the period (being not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice is given) within which representations or objections with respect to the modification may be made.

(3) The Commission shall consider any representations or objections which are made under subsection (2) (d) and not withdrawn and shall respond in writing to the relevant market participant concerned in respect of any such representations and objections within a reasonable period of the Commission having received them.

(4) The Commission, having considered such, if any, representations and objections referred to in subsection (3) shall decide whether or not to make the modification proposed under subsection (2), and, where representations or objections are made and the Commission considers, on foot of those representations or objections, that a modification other than that proposed should be made, it may decide to make that other modification.

(5) The Commission shall give the relevant market participant a written notice of its decision under subsection (4) and, where its decision is to make the modification proposed under subsection (2) or to make, in accordance with subsection (4), a modification other than that modification, the notice shall state the reasons for that decision and shall inform the relevant market participant of the matters set out in subsections (6) to (8).

(6) A modification under this section shall come into effect on the day that is 28 days after the date on which the notice referred to in subsection (5) is given, unless an appeal is made under subsection (7), in which case the modification shall not come into effect unless confirmed in accordance with that subsection in which case it shall come into effect in accordance with subsection (8).

(7) A relevant market participant may, not later than 28 days from the date on which a notice is given under subsection (5), appeal to the Circuit Court and on hearing an appeal under this subsection the Court may confirm or vary the modification or allow the appeal and cancel the modification.

(8) Where an appeal is taken under subsection (7), the modification shall, unless cancelled by the Court, come into effect on the day next following the day on which the modification is confirmed or varied, on appeal or the appeal is withdrawn, or on such day as is specified by the Court, whichever is later.

Functions of Commission for purpose of ensuring compliance by relevant market participant with registration

28AG. (1) The Commission shall monitor, in accordance with this Act, the compliance by relevant market participants with registrations granted to them and any terms and conditions specified in those registrations (in this section referred to as ‘obligations’).

(2) If, in the opinion of the Commission, a relevant market participant may not be, or is likely to not be, complying with its obligations, the Commission may give a written notice in accordance with subsection (3) to the relevant market participant concerned.

(3) A notice under subsection (2) shall—

(a) specify the acts or omissions that in the opinion of the Commission, may constitute, or would be likely to constitute, a failure to comply with the registration concerned, and

(b) specify the period (being not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice is given) within which representations or objections may be made.

(4) The Commission shall consider any representations or objections which are made under subsection (3) and not withdrawn.

(5) The Commission, having considered any representations or objections, referred to in subsection (4), may make a determination that a relevant market participant is not complying with its obligations.

(6) The Commission may issue a direction to a relevant market participant where it has made a determination under subsection (5) that a relevant market participant is not complying with its obligations.

(7) A direction issued under subsection (6) shall specify the acts or omissions that in the opinion of the Commission constitute the failure by the relevant market participant to comply with its obligations and shall direct the relevant market participant to take, within the period of time specified in the direction, such remedial actions as are specified in the direction.

(8) As soon as practicable after giving a direction under subsection (6), the Commission shall give a written notice of the direction to the relevant market participant concerned.

(9) A relevant market participant may make representations or objections to the Commission in respect of a direction issued to it under subsection (6) within a period of 28 days from the date on which the notice of the direction is given.

(10) The Commission shall consider any representations or objections made to it in accordance with subsection (9) and shall respond in writing to the relevant market participant concerned in respect of any such representations or objections within a reasonable period of the Commission having received them.

(11) The Commission may withdraw a direction and where it does so it shall give a written notice of the withdrawal to the relevant market participant concerned that sets out the effect of the withdrawal.

(12) A relevant market participant that is aggrieved by a direction issued to it under subsection (6) may—

(a) if no representations or objections are made under subsection (9), within the period of 28 days from the date on which the notice of the direction is given, or

(b) if representations or objections are made under subsection (9), within the period of 28 days from the date of the response of the Commission in respect of those representations or objections,

appeal to the Circuit Court against the direction, and in determining the appeal, the Court may make such order as it considers appropriate, including to confirm, vary or revoke the direction.

(13) Where a relevant market participant fails to comply in full or in part with a direction issued under subsection (6) within the period specified in the direction or fails to cooperate with the Commission with regard to the direction, and the period within which an appeal may be made under subsection (12) has passed, the Commission may apply to the Circuit Court for an order directing the relevant market participant to comply with the direction.

(14) Where a direction is issued to a relevant market participant under subsection (6) (in this subsection referred to as the ‘current direction’) and a direction under this section has previously been issued to the market participant concerned (in this subsection referred to as the ‘previous direction’) in circumstances where—

(a) the previous direction was not withdrawn or revoked by the Circuit Court under this section, or

(b) an appeal in respect of the previous direction is not awaiting determination by the Circuit Court under this section,

the Commission may, where it considers it necessary to do so, temporarily suspend the registration of the relevant market participant concerned in accordance with this section until the non-compliance with the obligations which is the subject of the current direction has been rectified, and where it does so the Commission shall give a written notice, in accordance with this section, to the relevant market participant of the temporary suspension and the relevant market participant shall not engage in the activity during the period of the temporary suspension.

(15) Where the Commission proposes to temporarily suspend a registration, it shall give a written notice to the relevant market participant concerned of the proposal and the notice shall—

(a) state the reasons for the proposed temporary suspension, and

(b) specify the period (being not less than 28 days from the date on which the notice is given) within which representations or objections with respect to the proposal may be made.

(16) The Commission shall consider such representations or objections, if any, as are made under subsection (15)(b) and shall respond in writing to the relevant market participant concerned in respect of any such representations and objections within a reasonable period of the Commission having received them.

(17) Where the Commission, having considered such, if any, representations or objections as are made under subsection (15)(b), decides to temporarily suspend a registration, it shall give a written notice to the relevant market participant concerned of the decision and that notice shall state the reasons for the decision.

(18) Where the Commission decides to temporarily suspend a registration, the relevant market participant concerned may, not later than 28 days from the date of the notice referred to in subsection (17) is given, appeal to the Circuit Court.

(19) On hearing an appeal under subsection (18), the Circuit Court may either confirm or vary the decision of the Commission or allow the appeal and annul the decision.

(20) Where an appeal is taken under subsection (18), the decision of the Commission under subsection (17) shall, unless cancelled by the Circuit Court, take effect on the day following the day on which the decision is confirmed on appeal or the appeal is withdrawn, or on such day as is specified by the Circuit Court, whichever is later.

(21) Where no appeal is made under subsection (18), the decision of the Commission under subsection (17) shall take effect on the day on which the time allowed for an appeal has elapsed.

(22) Any decision of the Circuit Court on an appeal under subsection (18) shall be final, save that, an appeal from the decision may be made to the High Court on a specified point of law.

(23) Sections 23 to 26 shall not apply in respect of the holder of a licence or an authorisation in respect of the obligations of such a person that arise by reason of holding a registration granted under this Part.”.