Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of EU directives for which his Department has responsibility and which have yet to be implemented and in respect of which the deadline has passed; the number of cases in which the EU has either initiated prosecutions or given notice of its intention to prosecute for failure to implement such directives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16342/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I am fully aware of the importance of timely transposition of EU environmental legislation, some 200 items of which, including more than 140 directives, have by now been transposed in this country.

There are currently six directives in my Department's area of responsibility which are outstanding for transposition. These are: 2000/53/EC, end-of-life vehicles, ELVs. This directive contains two stages of transposition, the first by 21 April 2002 for new vehicles sold after 1 July 2002 and the second by January 2007 for all other vehicles. It is anticipated that this directive will be transposed in 2005; 2002/49/EC, assessment and management of environmental noise. Drafting of regulations to transpose this directive is well advanced and transposition is intended by mid-2005; 2002/88/EC, measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery. Draft regulations are nearing completion with a view to transposition of this directive by mid-2005. These regulations will also transpose Directive 2004/26/EC on non-road mobile machinery, which has a transposition target date of 20 May 2005; 2002/95/EC and 2002/96/EC, with its amending Directive 2003/108/EC. These two related directives deal, respectively, with restrictions on the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment and arrangements for dealing with waste electrical and electronic equipment. Legislative proposals for the transposition of both directives are now in drafting. It is intended that the directive will be transposed by mid-2005; and 2003/4/EC, public access to environmental information, repealing Directive 90/313/EEC. Legislative proposals for the transposition of this directive are in drafting. It is intended that this directive will be transposed shortly.

One case has been taken by the European Commission to the European Court of Justice in relation to the non-transposition of these directives, specifically the end-of-life vehicles directive. The court delivered a judgment in this case on 28 October 2004. As stated earlier, work is continuing to complete full transposition of this directive having regard, inter alia, to the terms of the court judgment.