Vol. 550 No. 1
14 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of cases in which the European Commission has initiated legal action or announced that it intends to take legal action, arising from the failure to implement EU directives for which his Department has responsibility; the steps he is taking to ensure that all of these directives are implemented in full; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6976/02]
There are currently four cases in respect of which the European Commission has initiated legal action.
The first case concerns water quality in certain private rural water supplies. My Department is actively pursuing an intensive programme of measures to improve these supplies and achieve high water quality.
The second concerns the designation of vulnerable zones under the nitrates directive. Ireland has substantively complied with the main provisions of the directive in that we have undertaken the necessary monitoring of water quality, published a code of good agricultural practice, and put in place a wide range of measures to protect water quality from agricultural pollution. Proposals are now being developed for regulations to provide a statutory basis for the application in all areas of established standards of good farming practice. These will give further effect to a number of EU directives on waste and water quality, including the nitrates directive.
The third case concerns non-compliance with Articles 4 and 11 of the directive on polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated terphenyls, PCB-PCT, which require Ireland to prepare inventories and a plan for decontamination-disposal of PCB contaminated equipment and PCBs contained therein. The EPA's national hazardous waste management plan largely addresses the requirements of the directive. In addition the EPA has prepared a draft national PCB holdings plan which when completed will facilitate identification and management of PCB holdings.
The fourth case relates to a number of complaints made to the Commission concerning the carrying on of waste activities allegedly without appropriate authorisation as well as delays in EPA licensing. Ireland is required to lodge its defence by 10 April 2002.
