Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 352: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he is concerned that planning applications continue to be adjudicated and decided on since the European Court of Justice ruling, Judgement C/50/09, about Ireland's transposition and implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive. [26156/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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On 3 March 2011, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found against Ireland on all three elements of Case C-50/09 to the effect that Ireland had:

(1) not fully transposed Article 3 of Council Directive 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment , as amended (commonly referred to as the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive);

(2) excluded demolition works from the scope of Irish legislation transposing the EIA Directive; and

(3) not fully met its decision-making obligations pursuant to the EIA Directive in relation to projects involving both a land use consent and a pollution control consent.

In respect of (1) above, this issue has been addressed through sections 53 and 54 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, which directly transpose Article 3 of the EIA Directive into Irish planning legislation. Having regard to the wider applicability of Article 3 of the EIA Directive to other consent systems provided for in Irish law, my Department, in consultation with other Departments, is currently in the process of identifying other EIA Directive-relevant legislative consent processes outside the planning system to ensure full and correct transposition of Article 3 in these codes.

In respect of (2) above, building on the legislative amendments contained in the Planning and Development Regulations 2008, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 provide that the category of 'works of demolition' now requires EIA.

In respect of (3) above, my Department is currently examining options for secondary legislation which would prohibit an applicant from submitting a stand-alone environmental licence application to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in certain cases unless it is clearly established that mandatory or sub-threshold EIA is not required in respect of the proposed activity. Alternatively, if EIA is necessary, the applicant would be required to submit a planning application and an Environmental Impact Statement simultaneously with, or in advance of, the environmental licence application.

In the interim, for certain environmental licence applications on hand, an administratively based analysis of such cases is being carried out jointly by the EPA and An Bord Pleanála to identify any situations that would require assessment under the EIA Directive.

Accordingly, I am satisfied that the implications for Ireland of the ECJ Judgement in Case C-50/09 are being properly and expeditiously dealt with so as to ensure full compliance with the EIA Directive.