EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 15: Environmental Performance, Policy and Implementation standards for pollutants under the Priority Substances Directive (2455/2001/EC; infringement 2019/2286). There are currently three open infringements relating to EIA legislation: (1) implementation of the EIA Directive (2014/52/EU) in relation to projects in or likely to affect Natura 2000 sites (infringement 2000/4384 and C-215/06 – Commission v Ireland ); (2) a failure to take account of new modifications to the EIA Directive (infringement 2017/0368); and (3) EIA and peat extraction activities (infringement 2019/4007). With regard to access to justice legislation, current infringements relate to (1) access to justice provisions under the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) and EIA Directive (2011/92/EU) (infringement 2012/4028) and (2) the Environmental Liability Directive (2004/35/EC) (infringement 2020/2110). The remaining three open infringements relate to EU chemicals legislation (non-conformity with Seveso- III Directive (2012/18/EU; infringement 2019/2275)), marine legislation (late reporting on updates under the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (2008/56/EC; infringement 2018/2359)) and climate action legislation (Directive 2018/410/EU amending Directive 2003/87/EC to enhance cost-effective emission reductions and low-carbon investments, and Decision (EU) 2015/1814 (2019/0327)). The number of open infringements fluctuates over time, as existing infringement procedures are closed and new ones are opened. Updated information on infringements is available on the Commission website (https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/infringements_en) . Closing the current infringement procedures, and avoiding future ones, will require proactive action and prioritised legislation and enforcement by the government and public authorities in Ireland. The 2019 EIR notes that access to justice remains an issue in Ireland. The Commission has recommended that Ireland should make an effort to lower the cost of bringing an environmental legal action to court and better inform the public about their rights to access justice, notably in relation to air pollution and nature (Topic Box 15.1). Table 15.1  Summary of active and closed infringements proceedings against Ireland for breaches of EU environmental legislation (Source: European Commission) NUMBER OF ACTIVE INFRINGEMENTS (TO 10 NOVEMBER 2020) NUMBER OF CLOSED INFRINGEMENTS (1 JANUARY 2002 TO 10 NOVEMBER 2020) Infringements European Court of Justice cases Nature 4 2 11 Water 4 1 16 EIA 3 1 9 Chemicals 1 0 8 Marine 1 0 0 Climate action/floods 1 0 7 Access to justice/justice 2 0 2 Waste 0 0 33 Air 0 0 19 Other 0 0 7 a Total 16 4 112 a The ‘other’ closed infringements comprised three relating to the Seveso Directive and one each relating to noise (non-transposition of Directive 2002/49/EC), the INSPIRE Directive (failure to fulfil reporting obligations), the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (reporting obligation) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources. 391