Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 14 October 2009
158 Deputy Jim O’Keeffe asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the date for farmers spreading slurry in Northern Ireland has been extended to December 2009; and if he will also respond to the request of many farmers here for a similar extension. [35765/09]
View answer265 Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will extend the slurry spreading deadline beyond the 15 October 2009, in view of the wet summer experienced in 2009; if not, the reason he will not do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36017/09]
View answer290 Deputy Seán Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will give an extension from 16 October to end October 2009 to allow farmers spread slurry on their land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36349/09]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 158, 265 and 290 together.
The Nitrates Directive and Ireland's National Nitrates Action Programme are given legal effect by the consolidated European Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2009. The objective of the Regulations is to protect ground and surface waters, including drinking water sources, primarily through the management of livestock manures and other fertilisers.
Good agricultural practice involves the land spreading of slurry as early as practicable in the growing season in order to maximise the uptake of nutrients by crops and to minimise pollution risks to water courses and groundwaters. In accordance with the requirements of the Nitrates Directive, the Regulations include provisions regarding periods when the land application of certain types of fertilisers is prohibited. In addition, the Regulations prohibit such application at any time of the year when the ground is frozen, waterlogged or heavy rain is forecast.
In view of the prolonged period of favourable weather that has prevailed since September, the risk to water quality posed by an extension to the period for slurry-spreading and the major investment on the part of the State and farmers in the provision of adequate waste storage facilities in recent years, no extension to the spreading periods for organic fertilisers is proposed.
159 Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to list the cases being taken by the European Union against Ireland in relation to Ireland’s failure to transpose or implement European Union directives in environmental law in tabular form; the stages these cases are at; if fines are pending in relation to judgments against Ireland for breaches of environmental law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35807/09]
View answerIn areas for which my Department has responsibility, the European Commission is currently in correspondence in respect of 31 cases relating to transposition and implementation of EU environmental legislation. My Department is working hard to resolve these cases as soon as possible. The Commission has not made an application to the European Court of Justice for an imposition of fines in any of these cases, and fines have never been imposed on Ireland in relation to an environmental infringement.
I have provided a tabular statement listing the directives involved and setting out the various stages of proceedings in respect of these cases.
|
EU Instrument Number and General Reference |
Article 226 Letter of Formal Notice |
Article 226 Reasoned Opinion |
Being Referred to the European Court of Justice |
Before the European Court of Justice for a hearing or awaiting judgement |
European Court of Justice Decision to be Implemented |
Article 228 Letter of Formal Notice |
Article 228 Reasoned Opinion |
|
75/442/EEC the waste directive |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
76/464/EEC on dangerous substances in water |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
79/409/EEC on wild birds |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
79/923/EEC on the quality required of shellfish waters |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
80/68/EEC on groundwater |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
80/778/EEC on the quality of drinking water for human consumption |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
|
91/271/EEC on urban waste water treatment |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
92/43/EEC on habitats |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
98/81/EC on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
99/31/EC on landfill |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2000/53/EC on end of life vehicles |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2000/60/EC the water framework directive |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2002/96/EC on waste electrical and electronic equipment |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2003/35/EC on public participation in certain plans and programmes relating to the environment |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
2006/21/EC on the management of waste from extractive industries and amending Directive 2004/35/EC |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2006/118/EC on the protection of groundwater against pollution and deterioration |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2007/2/EC establishing an infrastructure for spatial information in the EU -INSPIRE |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Decision 2005/166/EC & Decision 280/2004/EC: Rules concerning a mechanism for monitoring Community greenhouse gas emissions and for implementing the Kyoto Protocol |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total Number at each Stage |
14 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
