Ireland taken to European court over failure to protect waterways from pollution

In October, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that only just over half of rivers, lakes, estuaries, and coastal waters are in satisfactory condition File picture: Denis Minihane

Ireland must answer to Europe's highest court over our failure to protect lakes, rivers, and coasts from pollution, as well as failing to adequately tackle the problem of invasive species.

In two separate cases, the European Commission said it was referring Ireland to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to correctly transpose the Water Framework Directive into national law, and failing to implement various provisions of the Invasive Alien Species Regulation.