EU court told Ireland had failed to comply with conservation rules

The European Commission has asked the European Court of Justice to condemn Ireland's failure to comply with EU rules for conserving endangered animals and plants.

During a hearing at the court's headquarters in Luxembourg yesterday, the Commission said Ireland had failed to provide a list of conservation sites.

The Government acknowledges its failure to provide a full list of sites but is defending the action on legal grounds, arguing that the Commission has not given its lawyers a proper opportunity to answer the charges.

The Commission's action refers to the "habitats directive", agreed by all EU member states in 1992, aimed at conserving natural habitats and wild fauna and flora in the EU. The directive envisaged a European network of special areas of conservation, with each member state proposing a list of sites to be included.

In its defence, the Government explained that, in order to ensure the protection of habitats, it had to introduce national rules.

In order to reconcile the need to take account of economic, social and cultural requirements and regional characteristics with the goal of conservation, a system of public consultation had to be established. Each step in this process had taken a great deal of time and effort, the Government's lawyers told the court.

The Fine Gael MEP, Ms Avril Doyle, speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, described as inexcusable the fact that Ireland, with 1 per cent of the EU's population, accounted for 10 per cent of Commission complaints about environmental issues.