A €5m fine has been imposed on the State by the EU’s top court over a failure to comply with EU legislation that might have prevented landslides linked to the construction of a windfarm in the west of Ireland in 2003.

The fine is due to the “seriousness and duration” of the failure to carry out an environmental impact assessment on the wind farm in the 11 years since a previous CJEU ruling on July 3, 2008.

The EU’s top court has said Ireland should be subject to large daily fines, already amounting to almost €4m, for failing to comply with EU legislation that might have prevented landslides caused by the construction of a wind farm in 2003.

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley has promised to close a loophole in Irish law that allows developers to begin work on large construction projects before the completion of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as required by EU legislation.

THE Shannon Regional Fisheries Board (SRFB) could take legal action against whoever was responsible for the Derrybrien peat landslide in Co Galway, it emerged last night.