European Commission decided on Thursday 4 June to take action against Ireland before the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to comply with Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA) (Directive 2011/92/EU as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU).
Ireland amended its legislation to implement the 1999 judgment of the Court of Justice concerning incorrect transposition of the first EIA Directive of 1985 (C-392/96).
Since July 2020, Ireland has taken significant measures to put an end to peat extraction by the public operator Bord Na Móna. Moreover, since July 2020, the Irish Environmental Protection Agency has taken enforcement measures against operators of private commercial sites of more than 50 hectares, leading some commercial peat operators to cease their activities.
However, the Commission is aware that there is still significant peat extraction activity that is not subject to authorisation or environmental impact assessment, particularly on sites of less than 50 hectares.
Despite evidence of these ongoing illegal activities, no enforcement action is being taken at local level. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)