Ireland has paid over €11m in fines for missing deadlines to incorporate EU directives into law

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) imposed a lump sum penalty in 2020 of €2million on Ireland for the delayed transposition of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, but that Ireland's completion of transposition prior to the CJEU ruling in July 2020 mitigated daily fines being imposed for any continued non-compliance. File picture

Delays in transposing EU law have led to over €11 million in fines being levied on government departments in recent years.

Under EU law, transposition is the process of incorporating EU directives into the national laws of individual Member States.

Unlike regulations and decisions, directives are not directly applicable throughout the EU but require national laws to incorporate their rules into national legislation. The Member States must adopt these national measures by a deadline, which is specified in each directive.

In a recent parliamentary response to Social Democrats TD Liam Quaide, Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Harris revealed that a total of €9 million had been paid to the EU for transposition delays. He said over Ireland’s 50 years of EU membership, approximately 4,000 directives have been transposed into Irish law.

"The vast majority are transposed on time, usually two years following publication," Mr Harris's response said.

"However, where this does not happen, the European Commission can open infringement proceedings against Ireland. Most infringements are resolved (once transposition is completed) at the initial stages of the infringement proceedings (Letter of Formal Notice or Reasoned Opinion). Where this does not occur, the European Commission can refer Ireland to the Court of Justice of the European Union for non/incomplete transposition."

Fines for missing deadlines

Mr Harris said the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) imposed a lump sum penalty in 2020 of €2million on Ireland for the delayed transposition of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, but that Ireland's completion of transposition prior to the CJEU ruling in July 2020 mitigated daily fines being imposed for any continued non-compliance. 

The lump sum payment of €2 million was paid to the European Commission, and the infringement case against the Department of Justice formally closed in June 2021.

In 2024, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media was fined for a delay in transposing the Audiovisual Media Services Directive under which Ireland has responsibility for regulating video-sharing platforms and streaming services that are established here for the whole of Europe. This resulted in a €2.5 million lump sum fine and €2.64 million in daily fines levied at €10,000 daily.

In February 2024, the CJEU imposed a lump sum fine of €2.5million for Ireland's failure to notify the full implementation of the revised AVMSD into law. Mr Harris's response says the first tranche of daily payments of €1.83 million was paid in October of that year. 

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In December 2024, the European Commission wrote to Ireland to state that by virtue of additional measures it had communicated to the Commission, it considered Ireland to have completed transposition of the Directive. The final tranche of daily payments was paid on January 31, 2025, and the infringement case is awaiting formal closure.

Also in 2024 the Department of Environment Climate & Communications was hit with a €4.5 million lump sum fine for delays related to the European Electronic Communications Code (Recast) Directive, which aims to strengthen consumer protections for phone users.

Ireland fully transposed the directive in November 2023, but the CJEU imposed a lump sum fine of €4.5million for failure to transpose the directive within the required time period. The lump sum fine was paid on July 3, 2024, and the infringement proceedings formally closed on October 2, 2024.

Hate crime and cyber laws

Last week, the EU gave Ireland two months to implement separate EU laws on hate speech, cyber security, and cross-border arrests or face being hauled before the European Court of Justice.

In addition to legal action on these three EU laws, the European Commission has also started formal proceedings against Ireland for failing to correctly transpose a directive on landfills.

In a statement, the European Commission detailed three laws that it says Ireland has failed to implement and has sent “reasoned opinions” to the Government saying it has two months to address the issues or, potentially, be taken to court.