The proposed Daily Penalties (Environment)
(Amendment) Regulations, 2022, seek to amend the Daily Penalties (Environment)
Regulations (S.L. 549.72, i.e. the principal regulations).
The principal regulations provide a framework for
the issuing of fines that accrue on a daily basis after the 16th day of
non-compliance for the offences listed in Schedules I and II therein.
The draft Legal Notice seeks to amend the principal
regulations so as to simplify the current Schedules, increase access to justice
and provide better visibility to contraveners, thus ensuring a more fair and
efficient regime.
The amendments specifically propose the following:
a) In the case of concurrent offences
which are subject to separate daily fines for different offences, the offender
is to be subject only to the highest daily penalty applicable at any one time.
Currently the principal regulations provide that in case of concurrent
offences, the person shall be subject to separate daily penalties that shall
accrue separately until all offences are addressed to ERA’s satisfaction;
b) The introduction of the
possibility to petition to the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal,
whereby the Tribunal may accede to such petition in part or in whole when there
are impelling reasons for it to do so;
c) Schedules I and II of the
principal regulations are being replaced by one Schedule, which no longer lists
separate pieces of legislation. The proposed draft lists the types of breaches
of environmental legislation which may lead to a daily fine, leading to
simplification of the daily fines which may be imposed; and
d) Minor ancillary amendments
relating to terminology – for example, use of the word “notice” to be
substituted by “Order” and “daily fine” instead of “daily penalty”.
Notably, the Legal Notice includes a transitory
provision, specifying that any Order issued before the coming into force of the
amendment is to remain in force provided that the applicable daily fines shall
be those most favourable to the contravener.