Ciarán Ahern (Dublin South West, Labour)
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331. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment his response to the European Commission's decision to open an infringement procedure against Ireland (INFR(2025)2005) for failing to correctly transpose the Landfill Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC as amended by Directive 2011/97/EU and Directive (EU) 2018/850) which sets standards for landfills to prevent adverse effects on human health, water, soil and air; the corrective actions he will take to ensure that the Directive is correctly transposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24225/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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A Letter of Formal Notice was received on 7 May, setting out the European Commission’s view that Ireland has not fully transposed Council Directive 1999/31/EC of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste. This Directive sets technical standards for constructing and monitoring landfills to prevent adverse effects on human health, water, soil and air.

My Department is reviewing the contents of the letter in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General in order to provide the Commission with Ireland’s observations within the prescribed two month time limit. It should be noted that the letter of formal notice acknowledges Ireland's approach of transposing by general reference and does not suggest that the technical requirements of this Directive have not been implemented in practice. Similar notifications have also been received by other Member States in relation to the transposition of this Directive in recent weeks.

Over the last two decades, Ireland’s waste management landscape has evolved significantly with a suite of legislative instruments introduced over the years to protect our environment whilst promoting waste management in line with the waste hierarchy. Most notably, we have moved away from an over-reliance on waste disposal activities with now only three municipal landfills currently licensed to accept municipal waste. The Environment Protection Agency is the competent authority for assessing, issuing and enforcing waste licenses for landfills. Details of the ongoing rigorous environmental management of the existing three active municipal landfills can be found on the EPA’s License and Enforcement Access Portal (LEAP) available at: .