Written answers

Tuesday, 8 September 2020

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

EU Issues

Photo of Seán SherlockSeán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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448. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the amount the State has paid in European fines in each of the years 2016 to 2019 and to date in 2020, in tabular form; the details of each fine; and if they have or have not been rectified. [22057/20]

Photo of Simon CoveneySimon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The amount the State has paid in European fines in each of the years 2016 to 2019 and to date in 2020 is presented in tabular form below:

Year Case ref. Details of Fine Rectified or Not
2019 Case C-261/18: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 12 November 2019 — European Commission v Ireland (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Non-compliance — Directive 85/337/EEC — Consent for, and construction of, a wind farm — Project likely to have significant effects on the environment — Absence of a prior environmental impact assessment — Obligation to regularise — Article 260(2) TFEU — Application for an order to pay a penalty payment and a lump sum) €5 million lump sum fine

Plus - €15,000 daily fine from date of judgment (12/11/2019) to date of compliance with the judgment.



Lump sum fine paid by DHPLG in January 2020



Notification letter for payment of daily fines yet to be received from the Commission.
Not rectified yet. The judgment will be complied with when the Derrybrien wind farm is subjected to a retrospective Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This requires ESB, the owner and operator of the wind farm, through a subsidiary, to submit an application for the EIA to An Bord Pleanála. The application was lodged with the Board on 21 August 2020 following delays due to Covid19 and a turbary rights issue. The issue of the retrospective EIA and the daily fines is being managed by DCCAE and ESB.
2020 Case C-550/18: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 16 July 2020 — European Commission v Ireland (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations — Article 258 TFEU — Prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing — Directive (EU) 2015/849 — Failure to transpose and/or to notify transposition measures — Article 260(3) TFEU — Application for an order to pay a lump sum) The European Court of Justice set a financial penalty of €2million on Ireland for the delayed transposition of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (Directive (EU) 2015/849). Rectified. The transposition of the Directive into Irish law was completed before the hearing of this case in December 2019 and no further action requires to be taken in respect of the Fourth Directive.

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