Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 25: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he is taking in response to the judgments in November and July 2008 and over a year ago in separate cases that Ireland has not fulfilled its requirements under the environmental impact assessment directive and that it is not requiring environmental impact assessments in respect of many developments that it should; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43037/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I refer to the reply to Question No. 409 of 4 November 2008 concerning Ireland's response to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgement of 3 July 2008. The position is unchanged. The ECJ judgement in case C-66/06 was delivered on 20 November 2008. The case primarily concerns legislative provision for screening of certain on-farm projects to determine whether they should be subject to an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The ECJ found that by setting thresholds for relevant project categories which take account only of the size of projects, to the exclusion of other criteria specified in the EIA Directive, and by not providing for a case-by-case examination for relevant project categories to identify projects likely to have significant effects on the environment, Ireland has exceeded the limits of its discretion under articles 2(1) and 4(2) of the EIA Directive. The ECJ judgement also found that national regulations that transpose the EIA Directive in relation to aquaculture activities are deficient.

This very recent judgement is being studied in detail by my Department, the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Attorney General's Office to determine the appropriate legislative response and any procedural measures that are necessary to ensure full and early compliance with the Directive. The European Commission will be notified of Ireland's proposed response to the judgement within the two-month period set down for this purpose.

I assume that the third case referred to is that opened in October 2007, primarily concerning the conformity of Irish legislation to the EIA Directive insofar as it relates to projects requiring both planning and pollution control consents (the so-called "split decision" consent system). The Commission's detailed application to the ECJ has not yet been received. However, in May 2007 the Supreme Court ruled that the combination of assessments carried out by the relevant public bodies together meet the requirements of the EIA Directive with regard to the undertaking of an EIA prior to consent.

The European Commission also opened a case in September 2007 concerning, among other matters, the implementation of the EIA Directive in respect of private roads. There is appropriate legislative provision for EIA in respect of public roads, but it was acknowledged that there was a gap in the transposition of the EIA Directive in relation to private roads that do not form part of any wider assessable development. This matter was addressed in the Planning and Development Regulations 2008