The Commission said that under an EU directive from 2011, member states are required to carry out an assessment of the environmental impacts of projects likely to have a significant negative impact on the environment, which included peat extraction.

In a decision with major implications, the Supreme Court has declared the 'substitute consent' procedure in Irish planning law is inconsistent with the European Impact Assessment Directive.

An Taisce has secured a court order overturning planning permission for the continued operation of a Bord na Móna peat-powered power plant in Co Offaly, employing 180 people.