The judgment to which the Deputy refers was made on the 7 November 2000. The judgment does not state that an exhaustive list of sites is to be submitted to the EU Commission. It states:
On a proper construction of Article 4(1) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, a Member State may not take account of economic, social and cultural requirements or regional and local characteristics, as mentioned in Article 2(3) of that directive, when selecting and defining the boundaries of the sites to be proposed to the Commission as eligible for identification as sites of Community importance.
The judgment has no new implications for Ireland. Dúchas, the heritage service of my Department, already interpreted the directive in this way. Economic, social and cultural requirements or regional or local characteristics were not taken into account by Dúchas when selecting and defining sites or their boundaries. Accordingly the Irish selection procedures comply with this judgment.