Fire and Building Control

Dangerous Substances Licensing

Cork County Council, as the licensing authority for County Cork under the Dangerous Substances Act 1972, issues licences for the storage of flammable liquids and fuels under the following Regulations:

These Regulations came into effect on 1st April 2020. They repeal and replace the Dangerous Substances (Retail and Private Petroleum Stores) Regulations, 1979 (S.I. No. 311 of 1979) and the Dangerous Substances (Petroleum Bulk Stores) Regulations, 1979 (S.I. No. 313 of 1979).

The Regulations make a number of changes to the petroleum sector to increase safety standards for employees, the public and the environment. They are broader in scope than the 1979 Regulations and include Diesel, as well as several ‘alternative fuels’ such as electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, synthetic and paraffinic fuels, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Diesel-only stores and stores which were not previously required to have a licence have until 1st April 2021 to become compliant with the new Regulations.

A PDF version of the new Regulations and a guidance document on frequently asked questions is available on the website of the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation at this link.

Licence Obligations

  1. For Retail and Kerbside Retail Stores

All retail and kerbside retail stores which store flammable liquids and fuels for the purposes of sale or supply to the public must have a Licence or Certificate of Operation to operate granted by the appropriate licencing authority.

  1. For Distribution and Commercial Supply Stores

All distribution and commercial supply stores which hold flammable liquids and fuels for supply or sale to commercial enterprises, for supply to the licensee’s own vehicles or for use in any engine under the licensee’s control must have a licence granted by the appropriate licensing authority.

Applications

All first time applications must have an accompanying Risk Assessment in line with the format set out in the Regulations.

Click the following link for application forms for Retail and Kerbside Retail Stores (pdf).

Click the following link for application forms for Distribution and Commercial Supply Stores (pdf).

The appropriate application should be made to Cork County Council, Fire & Building Control Dept., County Hall Campus, Farranlea Road, Cork T12 R298.

Any application for the renewal of a Licence shall be made not less than 90 days before the date on which the licence expires.

Details of fees payable are available in the Fire Service Charges accordion, listed above, on this webpage.

Definitions

A ‘Retail store’ means a place or premises used or intended to be used for the keeping for sale or supply to the public, under a licence, flammable liquids and fuels for use in the propulsion of a vehicle or the running of an engine of any kind.

A ‘Kerbside retail store’ means a retail store, premises or location where flammable liquids and fuels are stored for the purposes of sale or supply to the public and are dispensed to vehicles that are parked on a public road whether the dispensing equipment is located on a public footpath or otherwise, or the vehicle from which flammable liquids and fuels are transferred to the store is parked on a public road.

‘Commercial supply’ means the sale of flammable liquids and fuels to commercial operations, or the supply of flammable liquids and fuels for commercial activities, whether the flammable liquids and fuels are supplied to another person or company or within the same company

Appropriate licensing authority’ means the licensing authority with functional responsibilities for the area in which the retail store or kerbside retail store is located, or a licensing authority or group of licensing authorities designated as an appropriate licensing authority, or a body established to act on behalf of a licensing authority or group of licensing authorities and designated as an appropriate licensing authority. An appropriate licensing authority may also be an appropriate fire authority.

Appeals

If a licence application for a Retail Store or a Commercial Store is refused, or the store is the subject of an adjudication on any matter by the licensing authority, the owner or operator may appeal the decision to the Health and Safety Authority (i.e. the “appeals authority”) within the appropriate time period from the date of the decision by the licensing authority.

Note: Appeals in relation to kerbside retail stores are made to the relevant District Court.

Details on how to make an appeal can be found at the following link HSA – Appeals process.