Two long-running court cases taken against Ireland over nature protection infringements have finally closed, the European Commission confirmed this morning.
The two cases resulted in judgments by the European Court of Justice against Ireland in 2001 and 2002.
The Commission decisions to close the cases came after notification by Ireland of over 400 important nature sites and the adoption of measures to restrict sheep numbers on fragile soils to environmentally sustainable levels.
European environment commissioner Stavros Dimas today called on Ireland to resolve other outstanding cases against it.
"I am pleased to announce the closure of these long-running cases following action taken by the Irish authorities. I would now urge them to redouble their efforts to satisfy other important court rulings on nature in Ireland. This is crucial if we are to halt the loss of biodiversity,” he said.
One of the cases closed related to a 1995 deadline to complete a list of nature sites to protect Ireland's most endangered natural habitats and species as part of Natura 2000 – a Europe-wide network of protected areas set up to protect biodiversity and halt species loss.
In September 2001, Ireland was condemned by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for not respecting the June 1995 deadline under the EU Habitats Directive to formally propose a complete list of sites for the conservation of its endangered habitats and animal and plant species.
The second case concerned measures to recover vegetation in Irish uplands that were damaged by overstocking of sheep from the 1980s onwards.
In June 2002, Ireland was condemned by the ECJ o for not protecting the 25,000 hectare Owenduff-Nephin Beg Complex special protection area (SPA) in Co Mayo from erosion damage caused by overstocking of land by sheep and for not protecting the wider habitats of the red grouse from similar damage.
The breaches arose under the Wild Birds Directive, which requires the habitats of wild birds to be protected, and under the EU Habitats Directive, which lays down safeguards for SPAs.
Minister for the Environment, John Gormley welcomed the decision by the European Commission to close the cases.
"It is clear to me that the approach Ireland had to implementing these and other environmental Directives was not working well enough and the large number of infringement cases was testament to this — I am determined to change our approach, for the State to adopt a much more constructive attitude to the implementation of these directives, and for Ireland to reap the dividends that this will yield in terms of environmental performance, quality of life and economic return," he said.
