Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1430: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government further to Article 10 of Council Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA of 27 January 2003 on the protection of the environment through criminal law committed Ireland to adopting the measures necessary to comply with its provisions by 27 January 2005 and, by 27 April 2005 at the latest, to have communicated to the General Secretariat of the Council and to the Commission the texts of the provisions transposing into Irish law the obligations agreed in the framework decision, if Ireland is in full compliance with Article 10, if not, the reason therefor; if the commitments set out in Article 10 of Council Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA of 27 January 2003 on the protection of the environment through criminal law have not been met by Ireland; and the steps open to the European Commission to ensure compliance. [40345/05]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1447: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if Ireland has ratified the Council of Europe convention of 4 November 1998 on the protection of the environment through national law; if the convention has not been ratified, the reason therefor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40341/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1430 and 1447 together.

In common with most EU member states, Ireland has neither signed nor ratified the 1998 Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. Only Estonia has ratified the convention to date.

In 2001 the European Commission brought forward a proposal for a directive which comprised the main elements of the convention. The majority of member states opposed the approach of making a directive to provide for the necessary provisions on criminalisation. Accordingly the Council adopted a Framework Decision 2003/80/JHA of 27 January 2003 on the protection of the environment through criminal law. However this was subsequently annulled by the European Court of Justice on 13 September 2005 on foot of an action taken by the Commission that the aim and content of the framework decision in relation to the protection of the environment through criminal law were more appropriate to a directive.

The main objective of the framework decision had been to impose an obligation on member states to provide for criminal sanctions in the case of specified serious intentional or negligent environmental offences. It would have been left to the discretion of member states to decide on the level of penalties so long as they were effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

The Government is fully aware of the importance of effective deterrents for breaches of environmental law. In particular the provisions of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, the Waste Management Act 1996 and the Water Services Bill 2003 provide for significant penalties for breaches of environmental law.