Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 531: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will ensure that farmers will not have to go through a long process of having to seek and obtain planning permission and also through the expense of carrying out an environmental impact assessment for land reclamation works, drainage works, ditch removals and so on as proposed by the EU Commission. [22824/11]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Labour)
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Question 542: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if field drainage for agriculture of fields subject to occasional flooding which have previously been periodically drained will remain an exempted development under the draft Planning and Development (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations Bill 2011; if so, if this will be clarified in the draft regulations; and if not, the reason such a draconian change is required to comply with the judgment in Case C-66/06, Commission v Ireland and having regard to the said judgment. [22989/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 531 and 542 together.

In Case C-66/06, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that Ireland's system of screening projects to assess the requirement to carry out environmental impact assessment (EIA) for certain categories of agriculture development was over-reliant on size thresholds and did not take sufficient account of other relevant criteria such as the cumulative effects of development and the location of those developments. In June 2011, the Commission referred this case back to the Court to seek the imposition of both lump sum fines and daily fines for failure to act on the findings of the judgment and extensive consultations and action have been taken to minimise the risk of exposure to fines and to expedite resolution of the case.

In response to the Court's finding, my Department and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food have been working together, in consultation with the European Commission, fully to address the Court findings and ensure that Ireland's legislative system and procedures are fully compliant with the Directive. It has been agreed that it is more efficient and appropriate to transfer responsibility for most of the activities covered by the judgment, such as the re-structuring of fields and removal of hedgerows and boundaries, the use of uncultivated land or semi-natural areas for intensive agriculture and normal field drainage works to the Department of Agriculture, as part of its wider management responsibilities for overseeing agricultural activities and integrating environmental considerations into relevant schemes. The only element of the judgment being retained within the planning system is on-farm development activity that impacts on the drainage or reclamation of wetlands, which are regarded as highly environmentally sensitive areas.

Accordingly, following approval by the Oireachtas of the draft Regulations, I signed the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 on 8 September 2011, which introduce a number of amendments to address the ECJ findings in this case. The Regulations provide, inter alia , for the:

· removal of certain categories of farm activities from the planning code as these are now regulated under the new Department of Agriculture system,

· lowering of thresholds for both planning permission and for projects requiring mandatory EIA for farm developments that impact on the drainage and/or reclamation of wetlands,

· introduction of enhanced screening processes for relevant sub-threshold development, particularly those that may impact on certain sites such as designated Natura 2000 areas, recorded monuments, natural heritage areas and other nature reserves, given their environmental and heritage sensitivities, and

· abolition of any planning exemptions for relevant projects where an EIA is required.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has also signed, on 8 September, new European Communities (Agricultural Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 which provide for a new system of screening for environmental impact above certain thresholds for different types of agricultural activity, and the requirement for the Minister's consent to be sought and mandatory EIA to be carried out on such projects at a higher threshold level.

Both Minister Coveney and I are satisfied that we have introduced appropriate and balanced reforms that meet our compliance requirement with the EU Directive and that facilitate reasonable activities by farmers in these areas, while also protecting our valuable environmental heritage.