Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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496. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the level of compliance with European Union directives within his ministerial areas of responsibility; the current fines resulting from non-compliance and potential fines resulting from present non-compliance the State is or may be exposed to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40639/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Insofar as my areas of responsibility are concerned, Ireland is not subject to any fines arising from non-compliance with European Union Directives and does not have any overdue Directives yet to be transposed. Within my areas of responsibility, Ireland is currently the subject of two letters of formal notice by the European Commission under Article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The relevant Directives, and the current position on each, are as follows:

- Directive 2004/38/EC (the 'Freedom of Movement Directive'): In 2011, the Commission issued a letter of formal notice alleging certain shortcomings in Ireland's transposition of this Directive. My Department engaged closely with the Commission with a view to resolving the matter, resulting in an agreement on the content of new draft Regulations to amend the European Community (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006. I expect to be in a position to sign these Regulations in the near future, after which it is hoped that the Commission will formally close its proceedings in this case.

- Directive 2011/36/EU (the 'Human Trafficking Directive): On 28 May 2013 the Commission issued a letter of formal notice to Ireland regarding overdue transposition of this Directive, full transposition of which was due by 6 April 2013. Ireland had already implemented most of the criminal law provisions of the Directive by way of the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008, but a small number of amendments to that Act were required for full compliance with the Directive. Those amendments were included in the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) (Amendment) Act which became law on 9 July 2013 and the Commission was duly notified that Ireland had transposed Directive 2011/36/EU in full. An acknowledgement of Ireland's transposition documentation was received from the Commission on 29 August and it is hoped that the case will be formally closed in the near future.