These Regulations, which came into operation on 1st July 2011, retranspose into Irish Law Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods (insofar as that Directive relates to the carriage of dangerous goods by road) as amended by Commission Directive 2010/61/EU of 2 September 2010 adapting for the first time the Annexes to Directive 2008/68/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the inland transport of dangerous goods to scientific and technical progress and Directive 2010/35/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 16 June 2010 on transportable pressure equipment, but in so far only as that Directive relates to the carriage of dangerous goods by road.
The Regulations also transpose and/or retranspose into Irish law—
(a) the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR), the Annexes to it and the protocol of signature thereto done at Geneva on 30 September 1957, as amended from time to time by reference to Directive 2008/68/EC and amendments thereto, and
(b) the requirements of Council Directive 95/50/EC of 6 October 1995 on uniform procedures for checks on the transport of dangerous goods by road, as amended by Directive 2001/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2001 amending Council Directive 95/50/EC and Commission Directive 2004/112/EC of 13 December 2004 adapting to technical progress Council Directive 95/50/EC.
The Regulations revoke and replace—
(i) the European Communities (Transportable Pressure Equipment) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 374 of 2004),
(ii) the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 617 of 2007),
(iii) the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act 1998 (Appointment of Competent Authorities) Order 2010 (S.I. No. 618 of 2010),
(iv) the Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Act 1998 (Fees) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 619 of 2010), and
(v) the European Communities (Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road) (ADR Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2010 (S.I. No. 620 of 2010).
The Regulations apply to the transport by road, in tanks, in bulk and in packages, of dangerous goods, including the packing, loading, filling and unloading of the dangerous goods in relation to their carriage. They apply the provisions of Annexes A and B to the “European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road” (ADR), as amended, referred to in Annex 1 to Directive 2008/68/EC (as adapted by Commission Directive 2010/61/EU) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 2008 on the inland transport of dangerous goods.
The Regulations and the ADR place duties on the various participants associated with the transport by road of dangerous goods. They contain requirements for the vehicles, tanks, tank containers, receptacles and packages containing the dangerous goods during their transport. The Regulations and ADR require that the drivers, and others involved in the transport by road of the dangerous goods, be adequately trained and, in the case of drivers, hold certificates of such training. The Regulations also contain provisions on an EU harmonised approach to the road checks aspect of their enforcement.