Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 342: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the fines being imposed on Ireland for non-compliance with the land drainage and septic tank EU directives; if these fines have been paid; and if they have, the date on which they commenced. [28769/11]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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While the European Commission has decided to resubmit a number of infringement cases to the Court of Justice seeking the imposition of fines for failure by Ireland to take adequate and timely action to address previous Court rulings, no decision resulting in the actual imposition of fines in these cases has been made to date by the Court. Since coming into office, I have assigned the highest priority to taking the steps necessary to resolve the legacy of environmental infringement cases which I inherited.

In the first of the two cases referred to, the ECJ found that Ireland's system of screening projects to assess the requirement to carry out 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 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 this judgment and following consultation with the Oireachtas and the European Commission, I signed, on 8 September 2011, the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2011 and my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, signed the European Communities (Agricultural Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 on the same day; these new Regulations have amended the planning code and also introduced a new screening and consent system under the aegis of the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to fully address the ECJ findings in this case and bring our system into full compliance with the Directive. Ireland lodged its defence in this case on 5 September and the response of the Commission, which is to be lodged by 24 November, is awaited.

In the second case referred to, the ECJ found that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the EU Waste Directive as regards domestic waste waters discharged to septic tanks and other on-site treatment systems. In July 2011, the Commission submitted an application to the Court seeking the imposition of fines for continued non-compliance. In response, Ireland submitted its defence to the Court on 5 October and I am prioritising the early finalisation of legislation to address successfully the Court's findings.