Shane McEntee (Meath, Fine Gael)
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Question 200: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of EU Directives for which he has responsibility for that remain to be transposed into Irish law; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30394/05]

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 seven directives in my Department's area of responsibility which are outstanding for transposition. These are: — 2000/53/EC — End-of-life vehicles: this directive was due for transposition by 21 April 2002 with obligations imposed under the directive effective in respect of new vehicles sold after 1 July 2002 from that date and from 1 January 2007 for all other vehicles. It is anticipated that this directive will be fully transposed by the end of the year. — 2002/49/EC — Assessment and management of environmental noise: drafting of regulations to transpose this directive, which was due for transposition by 18 July 2004, is well advanced and transposition is intended by the end of the year. — 2002/88/EC — Measures against the emission of gaseous and particulate pollutants from internal combustion engines to be installed in non-road mobile machinery and 2004/26/EC —amending Directive 97/68/EC on the approximation of the laws of member states relating to emissions from internal combustion engines in non-mobile road machinery: draft regulations transposing both directives are nearing completion with a view to transposition by the end of the year. The first directive was due for transposition by 11 August 2004 and the second by 20 May 2005. — 2003/4/EC —public access to environmental information, repealing Directive 90/313/EEC: legislative proposals for the transposition of this directive are in drafting. The directive was due for transposition by 14 February 2005 and it is intended that this directive will be transposed at the earliest possible date. — 2003/35/EC — Directive on public participation in respect of the drawing up of certain plans and programmes relating to the environment and amending with regard to public participation and access to justice Directives 85/337/EEC and 96/61/EC: this directive was due for transposition by 25 June 2005. Options for transposition of the directive are being examined with a view to completing transposition at the earliest possible date. — 2004/12/EC — Directive amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste: my Department is engaged with a stakeholder group on a final phase of consultation prior to finalising regulations to give effect to this directive. The directive was due for transposition on 18 August 2005 and it is intended that it will be transposed in the first quarter of 2006.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 201: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the circumstances surrounding the scheduling and subsequent cancellation of an oral hearing on 11 October 2005 in the European Court of Justice regarding Ireland's implementation of EU legislation on environmental impact assessments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30435/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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This matter arises from an application by the European Commission to the European Court of Justice in July 2003 seeking the imposition of a daily fine of €21,600 against Ireland to enforce a previous judgment by the Court made on 21 September 1999 against Ireland. That judgment centred on the environmental impact assessment, EIA, directive, as amended, in relation to the exemption thresholds set for peat extraction.

My Department has since been working, in consultation with European Commission officials, on a series of measures to address the findings of the court and the final measures have now been put in place. Earlier this year, I signed the Planning and Development Regulations 2005. These regulations generally exempt peat extraction below a threshold of 10 hectares from the requirement for planning permission. However, there are exceptions where the peat extraction would have significant effects on the environment or, where the peat extraction takes place within peatland areas that have been afforded protection either as special areas of conservation, SACs or natural heritage areas, NHAs, both of which are subject to a separate control system. The European Commission was concerned that all designations of SACs and NHAs should be fully completed so as to ensure that any cases involving sub-threshold peat extraction in sensitive locations, while not subject to planning permission, would be subject to nature conservation controls under wildlife legislation.

I am pleased to inform the House that I signed the final set of protection orders for NHAs on 20 September thus satisfying all of the Commission's outstanding concerns. As Ireland is now fully in compliance with the 1999 judgment, the Commission proceeded to request the court to cancel its application for a daily fine against Ireland.