EU rules against Ireland on planning

IN a judgment which could have far-reaching implications, the EU has ruled that Ireland had wrongly interpreted the requirements for Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for certain planning projects.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) took the action because it claimed the Irish Government’s implementation of the EIA directive was deficient.

Officials in Brussels argued that Ireland relied exclusively on size as the reason for determining whether an EIA should be carried out for certain kinds of projects.