A senior engineer from the department travelled to north Mayo to meet Shell management, following a complaint lodged by community group Pobal Chill Chomáin.

A report by the engineer has found that the works in the Sruwaddacon estuary special area of conservation comply with foreshore licence conditions and are "in accordance" with the approved environmental management plan, the department has said.

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The claim by Peter Sweetman and Monica Muller, which was challenged by Shell counsel, was made during a heated debate at yesterday morning's session of the An Bord Pleanála hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo into the controversial Corrib gas project.

Shell has consistently argued that the section of the pipeline on and above the shore at the landfall site of Glengad has consents.

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Ms O'Reilly had ordered the release to a Dublin man of a document containing information of a 2003 Cabinet discussion of greenhouse gas emissions.

In an important judgment dealing with the relationship of EU law to national law, Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill found Ms O'Reilly had no jurisdiction to decide the effect of regulations, enacted here in 2007 to implement a 2003 EU directive guaranteeing public right of access to environmental information held by public authorities, was "at odds with the provisions and stated intent of the directive".

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The State wanted the road to be built, but it was "vital" this was done in accordance with law and the requirements of EU law, Michael Collins SC, for the State, said yesterday.

The Attorney General had advised that the go-ahead by the board for the road did not comply with the requirements of the EU habitats directive, but the board disputed that, Mr Collins said. In those circumstances, the State believed the European Court of Justice should clarify the relevant provisions of the directive.

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A previous Supreme Court judgment, that a planning permission was deemed to have been granted by Kildare County Council, which had failed to give a decision within the prescribed period, should be remitted to the High Court to consider the issue of an Environmental Impact Assessment, which should have been considered under an EU directive.

The Supreme Court also ruled that An Taisce should be heard at any hearing that might take place.

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The EC brought an action against Ireland, Aughinish Alumina, France, Italy and Eurallumina in relation to alleged state aid granted to the alumina - or aluminium oxide - industry. As well as dealing with the issue of whether this state aid was permissible, the court will also consider whether the European Court of First Instance (CFI) should be allowed to raise issues which have not been pleaded, and whether the parties should have a right to be heard on such issues.

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THE EUROPEAN Commission's director-general for the environment, Karl Falkenberger, has criticised the Government's failure to adopt the EU Directive on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
Mr Falkenberger said that unlike the waste management and water quality directives, where implementation required significant investment, this directive was an "administrative procedure that doesn't cost much".
Referring to a current case against Ireland over the environmental impact assessment carried out for the M3 and Tara, he said the commission "as guardians of EU legislation, have no choice but to see each other in court" when all other efforts to ensure full compliance had failed.

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Planning board accused of allowing destruction of priority Corrib habitat

THE STATE has accused An Bord Pleanála of permitting "the deliberate destruction" of priority habitat limestone pavement at the protected Lough Corrib site in Co Galway by granting approval for the €317 million Galway city outer bypass.
In a strong attack on the board at the Commercial Court yesterday, Garret Simons SC, for the State, argued that the board's approval was invalid as it breached the European habitats directive requiring member states to protect natural habitats.

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THE STATE believes An Bord Pleanála has given invalid permission for a €317 million Galway ring road, possibly exposing the State to legal action by the European Commission, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.

However, the board rejects the claims of invalidity and is standing over its decision.

The State told the board in correspondence this week that it was a matter of "great regret" the board did not accept the State's view that the permission for the project breaches provisions of the EU habitats directive and relevant regulations.

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TWO SEPARATE legal challenges aimed at overturning planning permission for the €317 million Galway city ring road project will be heard at the Commercial Court later this year.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly yesterday transferred both actions to the Commercial Court and listed them for hearing, on a concurrent basis, from June 30th next.

Esmonde Keane SC, for Galway City and Galway County Councils, sought the transfer on grounds of the cost and urgency of the road project, the N6 Galway city outer bypass. Some €12 million has been spent on the project to date and the estimated total cost is some €317.5 million, the court heard.

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A PROPOSAL for the construction of a marine lake in Dun Laoghaire harbour has been abandoned after the Department of the Environment ruled the development would conflict with a special protection area for birds.

The scheme was mooted as a recreational facility at the West Pier in the harbour - the newer pier - and would have provided a range of activities to the public including rowing, canoeing and sailing.

But management at Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council have decided to scrap the project, which was an objective of the local authority's county development plan.

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Iberia has a lot of nature to protect. Although it occupies just 14 per cent of EU 27 land area, it accounts for 21 per cent of Natura 2000 sites, according to December 2008 Eurostat data.

In Portugal "a huge potential exists for conflict between the pressure for growth and the protection of biodiversity", says Pedro Barbosa, the recently appointed Lisbon representative for the infringement unit of the European commission's environment directorate.

Javier Ruiz Tomás, the unit's representative in Madrid, says Spain began to top the league table for environment-related complaints in the 1990s because "many EU-funded infrastructure projects interfered with semi-wild spaces".

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FARMERS and landowners will resist attempts by the Minister for the Environment John Gormley to restrict the use of bogs for domestic use, according to IFA Connacht Vice President Michael Silke.

Silke has accused the Minister for the Environment John Gormley of sending conflicting messages in relation to turf cutting restrictions on designated raised bogs.

He added that Minister Gormley must not mislead people and stop trying to pretend that he has resolved the problem of turf cutting on designated bogs.

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As unemployment surges in Iberia, new multi-billion road, rail and hydro projects are being presented by public administrations in Portugal and Spain as a panacea for job creation and economic growth.

Environmentalists worry the economic imperative will be used in defence of these crisis-busting projects to further erode already inadequate enforcement of EU nature protection legislation. This may have negative repercussions in Iberia and further afield.

Includes: How Well is the new 'Pilot' EU Environmental Complaints system working?

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