Ireland still on name and shame list
But the country is to remain on a “name and shame” list until national legislation bringing the 1999 Landfill Directive into effect is inspected.
Four individual court cases relating to illegal or mismanaged landfill sites are also to proceed as planned before the Court of Justice while a fifth is under consideration.
Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom drew an indignant response from the Department of Environment when she placed Ireland on a list of negligent member states at a seminar in Brussels yesterday morning.
In a hard-hitting statement, Ms Wallstrom said public concern about landfills was evident from the “steady flow” of complaints received by her office.
She said the name and shame tactic was designed to highlight the importance of managing waste properly under EU legislation.
“Only if national authorities respect the legislation for land filling can citizens be encouraged to trust land filling as an environmentally-viable option for waste management,” she said.
Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen, quickly contradicted the commissioner, saying he had introduced the necessary legislation to enact the directive. He said he was confident the commission would withdraw any pending legal action against Ireland.
A spokeswoman for Ms Wallstrom, Pia Ahrenkilde, said last night she too was now confident no legal action would be necessary, but pointed out Mr Cullen’s legislation had only been submitted on July 30, a year late, and had not yet been assessed by the commission to decide if it was adequate.
The cases relate to five landfill sites operated without licence and were initiated following complaints to the commission by private individuals or environmental groups. Mr Cullen said all but one of the sites were now licensed.
In total, nine countries were shamed with Britain, Italy, Greece, Belgium and Luxembourg joining Ireland on the list.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
