merrion street

Minister Phil Hogan TD, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, and Minister Simon Coveney TD, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine today announced a package of reforms to address the adverse findings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in respect of certain categories of farm development and activities and to bring Ireland’s implementation of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in line with the requirements of the EU Directive.

In making these regulations, Minister Hogan welcomed the progress of this matter and the collaborative effort of the two Departments and the European Commission in identifying and introducing appropriate and balanced reforms. The Minister said "Our ambition is to meet our compliance requirement with the EU Directive and to facilitate reasonable activities by farmers in these areas, while also protecting our valuable environmental heritage". He went on to say "Inaction by the previous government has brought us to this point. So called environmentalists in government failed to engage meaningfully with the Commission and it has been left to this Government to get the best deal for Ireland in the short time available, while making sure we meet our environmental obligations."

Minister Coveney stated "My focus throughout the summer has been to avoid the probability of very significant fines in this case while introducing a system that does not overburden farmers and is easily accessible and understandable. While this issue has primarily been the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, I have been keen to engage with the Commission to avoid a negative impact on farms and ensure the agreement took the needs of practical farming into account. I am satisfied that we have brokered a compromise which recognises those needs and delivers a workable solution for farmers.

Minister Coveney further outlined that he is satisfied that the regulations now proposed are workable, will minimise the administrative burden on farmers and keep the application process outside of the planning system.

Both Ministers have outlined that consultation and engagement will now take place with relevant stakeholders and the Commission on the guidelines that will support these regulations.

He added, "While the Court may ultimately impose a fine for the legacy of inaction, the shared understanding that we have secured here with the Commission should spare us from the imposition of daily fines of €33,000 per day (or up to €12.5 million per annum)"