Government censured - Directive undermined

YESTERDAY’S finding by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that the Government has failed to properly implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive is the third time in less than two years that the Government has been found to be at fault in relation to the EIA directive.

This latest ruling found that variations introduced at national level greatly diminished the intention and effectiveness of the legislation. As we seem to oppose EU directives designed to protect the environment from our excesses as a matter of national pride no one will be surprised to learn that the government faces further ECJ challenges and possibly huge fines in the coming months. These relate to incomplete EIAs on incinerators, large industrial plants and on the removal of significant archaeological sites.

The EIA directive is one of the most important pieces of environmental legislation adopted at European level over the past 25 years. It came into being after extensive consultations between relevant parties.

It was agreed, not imposed.

There is a growing consciousness of how precarious our water supplies are. There is a growing consciousness that we all have to treat the world around us with more respect yet our government acts in this cavalier way.

These laws are designed to put the common good before sectional interests and should be recognised as such. It must be asked too whose interests are served by not enacting them properly.

Certainly not those of the vast majority of communities, citizens or businesses.