Vol. 477 No. 5
47 Mr. M. McDowell asked the Minister for the Environment the circumstances which led to the taking of a case (details supplied) by the European Union against Ireland before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9758/97]
The European Commission initiated proceedings against Ireland in the European Court of Justice on 5 December 1996 for alleged failure to adequately transpose the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (85/337/EEC). The action by the Commission primarily relates to one aspect of Ireland's transposition of the directive i.e. the levels at which EIA should be required for projects involving afforestation, peat extraction and intensification of agriculture. Ireland will be lodging a full defence in this case.
Full effect has been given in Ireland to the EIA Directive since the introduction of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 and other relevant regulations. Indeed, a European Commission report, prepared in pursuance of the directive itself, showed that Ireland had established active and extensive EIA procedures on foot of the directive and that a comparatively high proportion of development is subjected to EIA in this country as a result of the adoption of more stringent thresholds than in member states generally.
