Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 12 July 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government

Review and Consolidation of Planning Legislation: Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Resumed)

Photo of Eoin Ó BroinEoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Graham and her team for coming before the committee again. There will be a confidence debate in the Dáil Chamber shortly, so I will have to leave after my contribution, for which I apologise.

I want to take a step back for a second. It is often expressed to us is that the State has a poor record in the transposition of EU environmental law across a range of areas historically. Even where the transposition of that law happens, it is often delayed, and the way in which it is transposed can lead to significant EU enforcement actions being taken against the State. This committee has dealt with at great length, issues about the water framework directive and the wastewater treatment directives. The committee has also dealt with substitute consent, the Derrybrien case, elongated enforcement action and consequential fines.

In advance of considering a consolidated environmental section to a revised planning and development Act, has there been an audit of the number of those enforcement or warning proceedings from the European Commission on environmental planning matters to try to inform the work of the Attorney General and Ms Graham's team? If so, will Ms Graham share the outcome of that because it seems to be that this would have been useful to do at the outset?

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