Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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355. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when his Department last filed the most recent two-year derogation licence reports to the European Commission under article 54A(6) of the Habitats and Bird Directives, and having been filed, to share if they were fully compliant with the specifications of regulation 54A(7); if not, what non-compliances were present; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41013/24]

Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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In order to fulfil reporting requirements set out by the European Commission, every two years, my Department submits reports outlining derogations issued under Article 16 of the Habitats Directive.

SI 293 of 2021 - European Union (Birds and Natural Habitats) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 inserted Regulation 54A into the Birds and Habitats Regulation 2011. This sets down that “where the Minister is proposing to undertake or adopt an activity, plan or project which requires a derogation licence from complying with the requirements of the provisions of Regulations 51 to 53, he or she may request an opinion from the Ecological Assessment Unit on whether to issue such a licence”. Processes have been updated to include any such derogations in the biannual Article 16 reports.

The most recent Article 16 report, due in September 2023, was submitted by my Department to European Commission on schedule. This report covers the years 2021 and 2022.

The link below gives detailed information on individual derogations/exceptions, as extracted from the national reports that have been submitted to the European Commission, including Ireland: www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/maps-and-charts/derogations-and-exceptions-table-dashboards.

My Department is working to improve the standard of reporting under Article 16 year on year to increase the quality of data submitted.