Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026

An Act to provide for the making of applications for licences, or applications for reviews of licences, under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 or under Part V of the Waste Management Act 1996 in certain emergency circumstances; to give effect to Articles 1(3) and 2(4) of Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011^1 on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014^2, in relation to applications for, or applications for reviews of, such licences; to make provision in relation to periods for decision-making relating to certain applications for, and reviews of, such licences; to enable the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out reviews of parts of licences under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 or under Part V of the Waste Management Act 1996 in certain circumstances; to make provision in relation to the appointment of the Director General and directors of the Environmental Protection Agency; to make provision in relation to powers of the High Court or Circuit Court in relation to activities in contravention of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992; for those and other purposes to amend the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 and the Waste Management Act 1996; to make provision in relation to offences relating to litter and for that purpose to amend the Litter Pollution Act 1997; to provide for the making of guidance and criteria in relation to green public procurement; to make provision in relation to the reporting by certain public bodies on the integration of green public procurement criteria into procurement processes; for those and other purposes to amend the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022; and to provide for related matters.

[12th March, 2026]

Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows:

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citation and construction, and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026.

(2) Part 3 and the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2011 may be cited together as the Waste Management Acts 1996 to 2026 and shall be read together as one.

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

2. Definitions

2. In this Act—

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

“Act of 1996” means the Waste Management Act 1996;

“Act of 2022” means the Circular Economy and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2022.

3. Repeals and revocations

3. (1) The following provisions of the Act of 1992 are repealed:

(a) subsections (1) to (5) and (7) to (11) of section 21;

(b) subsections (1) to (7) of section 24;

(c) paragraph (ab) of section 87(2);

(d) subsections (3), (3A) and (3B) of section 87;

(e) paragraph (f) of section 89(2).

(2) The following provisions of the Act of 2022 are repealed:

(a) section 19;

(b) section 35.

(3) The Environmental Protection Agency (Selection Procedures) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 127 of 2004 ) are revoked.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) and subsection (3), subsections (1) to (5) and subsections (7), (8) and (11) of section 21 of the Act of 1992, subsections (1) to (4) and subsection (7) of section 24 of the Act of 1992 and the Environmental Protection Agency (Selection Procedures) Regulations 2004 shall continue to apply and have effect in relation to a selection process commenced but not completed under that section 21 or 24 before the repeal effected by paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) or the revocation effected by subsection (3).

(5) Where, in the case of a selection process referred to in subsection (4), the Government decides not to appoint a person to be the Director General or a director of the Environmental Protection Agency under section 21(9) or 24(5) of the Act of 1992 or the committee (within the meaning of the Act of 1992) is unable to select any suitable candidate under section 21(10) or 24(6) of the Act of 1992, sections 20A and 23A of the Act of 1992 inserted by sections 5 and 7 shall apply.

PART 2 Amendments to Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992

4. Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1992

4. Section 3(1) of the Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘Act of 2024’ means the Planning and Development Act 2024;

‘Commission’ means An Coimisiún Pleanála;

‘national newspaper’ means—

(a) a publication (other than an online publication or online version of a publication) that—

(i) circulates generally in the State, and

(ii) is prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of this Act,

or

(b) an online publication, or online version of a publication, prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;

‘Transboundary Convention state’ means a state (other than the State) that is a contracting party to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context, done at Espoo (Finland) on 25 February 1991;”.

5. Appointment of Director General of Agency

5. The Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 20:

“20A. (1) The Director General of the Agency shall be appointed by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, in accordance with this section.

(2) The Minister shall, as required, request the Public Appointments Service to undertake a selection process for the purpose of identifying and recommending to the Minister persons who are suitable for appointment under subsection (1).

(3) Where the Public Appointments Service receives a request from the Minister, it shall undertake a selection process and recommend to the Minister, from among the persons who participated in the process, a maximum of 3 persons whom it is satisfied are suitable for appointment under subsection (1).

(4) The Minister may agree with the Public Appointments Service or may, following consultation with the Public Appointments Service, prescribe the selection criteria that are to apply to the selection process.

(5) The Minister shall, in performing the functions under subsection (4), have regard to the general suitability, and the special knowledge, experience and qualifications, required of a person in order to ensure the functions of the Director General are performed effectively.

(6) The Public Appointments Service shall provide the Minister with particulars of the suitability, relevant knowledge, experience and qualifications, of each person whom it recommends under subsection (3).

(7) Other than in the case of reappointment under section 21(13), the Minister shall not appoint a person to be the Director General unless the person is recommended by the Public Appointments Service in accordance with a request under this section.

(8) The Minister may make regulations to provide for—

(a) procedures relating to the application and selection process,

(b) selection criteria, in accordance with subsection (4), and

(c) such other matter as the Minister considers incidental, supplementary or consequential to the purposes of this section.”.

6. Amendment of section 21 of Act of 1992

6. (1) Section 21 of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (13)(b), by the substitution of “the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation,” for “the Government”, and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (16):

“(16) The Director General may be removed from office by the Minister if, in the Minister’s opinion, the Director General has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing the duties of the office, or for stated misbehaviour, or if the removal appears to the Minister to be necessary or desirable for the effective performance by the Agency of its functions.”.

(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1)(b) shall only apply in relation to a Director General of the Environmental Protection Agency appointed or reappointed after the coming into operation of that subsection.

7. Appointment of director of Agency

7. The Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 23:

“23A. (1) The directors of the Agency shall be appointed by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, in accordance with this section.

(2) The Minister may consult with the Director General (where a Director General is in office) or, if there is no Director General in office, the Deputy Director General (where a Deputy Director General is in office), in relation to the qualifications required for all posts as a director of the Agency or any particular post of director of the Agency.

(3) The Minister shall, as required, request the Public Appointments Service to undertake a selection process for the purpose of identifying and recommending to the Minister persons who are suitable for appointment under subsection (1).

(4) Where the Public Appointments Service receives a request from the Minister, it shall undertake a selection process and recommend to the Minister, from among the persons who participated in the process, a maximum of 5 persons whom it is satisfied are suitable for appointment as a director of the Agency under subsection (1).

(5) The Minister may agree with the Public Appointments Service or may, following consultation with the Public Appointments Service, prescribe the selection criteria that are to apply to the selection process.

(6) The Minister shall, in performing the functions under subsection (5), have regard to the general suitability, and the special knowledge, experience and qualifications, required of a person in order to ensure the functions of a director are performed effectively.

(7) The Public Appointments Service shall provide the Minister with particulars of the suitability, relevant knowledge, experience and qualifications, of each person whom it recommends under subsection (4).

(8) Other than in the case of reappointment under section 24(9), the Minister shall not appoint a person to be a director unless the person is recommended by the Public Appointments Service in accordance with a request under this section.

(9) The Minister may make regulations to provide for—

(a) procedures relating to the application and selection process,

(b) selection criteria, in accordance with subsection (5), and

(c) such other matter as the Minister considers incidental, supplementary or consequential to the purposes of this section.”.

8. Amendment of section 24 of Act of 1992

8. (1) Section 24 of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (9), by the substitution of “the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation,” for “the Government” in both places where it occurs, and

(b) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (12):

“(12) A director may be removed from office by the Minister if, in the Minister’s opinion, the director has become incapable through ill-health of effectively performing the duties of the office, or for stated misbehaviour, or if the removal appears to the Minister to be necessary or desirable for the effective performance by the Agency of its functions.”.

(2) The amendment effected by subsection (1)(b) shall only apply in relation to a director of the Environmental Protection Agency appointed or reappointed after the coming into operation of that subsection.

9. Amendment of section 51 of Act of 1992

9. Section 51 of the Act of 1992 is amended by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(3) A report referred to in subsection (1) shall, in relation to the period to which the report relates, state the number of—

(a) proposed determinations made under section 87(2) within the period prescribed under section 90B, and

(b) proposed decisions made under section 42(2) of the Act of 1996 within the period prescribed under section 46B of the Act of 1996.”.

10. Amendment of section 82D of Act of 1992

10. Section 82D of the Act of 1992 is amended by—

(a) the designation of that section as subsection (1), and

(b) the addition of the following subsection after subsection (1):

“(2) The Agency shall consider an application for a licence under section 83(1), or for a review of a licence or revised licence under section 90(1)(b), for an activity in respect of which an order has been made under section 88C or an exemption has been granted under section 88D, in a manner consistent with the plans, strategy, framework and objectives referred to in section 15 (1) of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 to the extent that it considers practicable, taking particular account of the matters referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of section 88C(2) or in section 88D(4), as the case may be.”.

11. Amendment of section 83 of Act of 1992

11. Section 83 of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2A)—

(i) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “environmental report”:

“ ‘environmental report’ has the meaning given by subsection (11).”,

(ii) in paragraph (b), by the substitution of “other than a designated application or an application for a licence for an activity in respect of which an order is made under section 88C or an exemption is granted under section 88D” for “other than a designated application”,

(iii) in paragraph (ba), by the substitution of “other than a designated application or an application for a licence for an activity in respect of which an order is made under section 88C or an exemption is granted under section 88D” for “other than a designated application”,

(iv) in paragraph (bh), by the substitution of “paragraph (bg)” for “paragraph (bf)”,

(v) in paragraph (c), by the substitution of “other than a designated application or an application for a licence for an activity in respect of which an order is made under section 88C or an exemption is granted under section 88D” for “other than a designated application”,

(vi) in paragraph (d), by the substitution of “other than a person making a designated application or an application for a licence for an activity in respect of which an order is made under section 88C or an exemption is granted under section 88D” for “other than a person making a designated application”, and

(vii) in paragraph (g), by the substitution of “an environmental impact assessment, an alternative assessment or an assessment referred to in section 88D(6)(a), as the case may be,” for “an environmental impact assessment or, as the case may be, an alternative assessment”,

and

(b) by the addition of the following subsection after subsection (10):

“(11) In subsections (2A) and (3), ‘environmental report’ means a report prepared in accordance with Regulation 7 of the Development (Emergency Electricity Generation) Regulations 2022 ( S.I. No. 719 of 2022 ).”.

12. Amendment of section 85 of Act of 1992

12. Section 85 of the Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of “or a Transboundary Convention state” after “Member State of the European Communities” in each place where it occurs.

13. Amendment of section 87 of Act of 1992

13. Section 87 of the Act of 1992 is amended—

(a) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “Subject to section 87B(1), before” for “Before”, and

(b) in subsection (9A), by the substitution of “Subject to section 87B(2), when” for “When”.

14. Non-application of proposed determination procedure to certain applications

14. The Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 87A:

“87B. (1) Subsections (2) to (9) of section 87 shall not apply in relation to an application for a licence (within the meaning of section 87(1A)) to carry on an activity where any of the following orders is made or an exemption is granted under section 88D in relation to the activity, and the order or exemption is in force:

(a) an order under—

(i) section 181(2)(a) of the Act of 2000, in respect of the development or proposed development (within the meaning of the Act of 2000) comprising or for the purposes of the activity, or

(ii) section 155(1) of the Act of 2024, in respect of the development or proposed development (within the meaning of the Act of 2024) comprising or for the purposes of the activity;

(b) an order under section 88C in relation to the activity;

(c) an order under section 88E in relation to the activity.

(2) Section 87(9A) shall not apply to a decision in respect of a licence or revised licence for an activity in respect of which an exemption is granted and in force under section 88D.”.

15. Applications for licences in certain emergency circumstances

15. The Act of 1992 is amended by the insertion of the following sections after section 88B:

“Exemption from EIA Directive for civil emergency or defence

88C.

88C. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Minister may by order declare that the requirements of the EIA Directive and paragraphs (b) to (bi) and (c) of section 83(2A) shall not apply in respect of an activity for the purpose of the Agency’s consideration of—

(a) an application for a licence to carry on the activity under section 83(1), or

(b) an application by the licensee for a review of a licence or revised licence to carry on the activity under section 90(1)(b).

(2) The Minister may make an order where—

(a) the Minister has consulted with such other Minister of the Government as the first-mentioned Minister considers appropriate,

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the carrying out of the activity is for the sole purpose of—

(i) the defence of the State, or

(ii) responding to a civil emergency,

and

(c) the Minister considers that applying the EIA Directive and paragraphs (b) to (bi) and (c) of section 83(2A) to the consideration of the application would have an adverse effect on the purpose referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii) of paragraph (b).