Ireland found guilty by Europe of failing to protect 200 special areas of conservation

Heritage Minister Malcolm Noonan claims that the judgment reflects the position prior to January 2019 and that Ireland has since ramped up its action. File picture

Europe's highest court has found Ireland guilty of failing to protect more than 200 sites marked for conservation going back almost 20 years.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that Ireland had failed to protect 217 out of 423 defined as so-called special areas of conservation (SAC) identified in 2004.