Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 34: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the steps he has taken to ensure that he will ratify the Aarhus Convention; if there are outstanding issues on legislation that he must attend to before it can ratify this convention; when he will be in a position to ratify this convention; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2448/10]

Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 66: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the issues he must address in order to implement the European Union Directive on Public Participation; the stage these steps to address any outstanding issues are at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2449/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 34 and 66 together.

Ireland signed the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters on 25 June 1998. Progress towards ratification of the Convention is closely aligned with work at EU level and, in that context, the European Union has adopted two Directives as part of the ratification process for the Convention. These deal with public access to environmental information (2003/4/EC) and public participation in certain environmental decision-making procedures (2003/35/EC).

The European Communities (Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 came into effect on 1 May 2007. These Regulations transpose EU Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information.

The process to transpose the Public Participation Directive is well advanced. The recent European Court of Justice judgement in case C427/07 concerning the Public Participation Directive requires certain legislative amendments which my Department is prioritising in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. When this work has been completed I, along with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, will ensure that the instrument of ratification of the Aarhus Convention is submitted to Government and laid before the Dáil as a matter of urgency.