Eu Proceeding Against Illegal Irish Quarries

national | environment | press release Friday June 02, 2006 16:43 by Tony Lowes - Friends of the Irish Environment admin at friendsoftheirishenvironment dot net

BBC Countryfile to highlight limestone pavement importance

The European Commission has lodged proceedings against Ireland with the European Court of Justice for its failure to assess and control unauthorised quarrying and similar activities. The proceedings follow a Letter of Formal Notice and a Reasoned Opinion sent by the Commission to Ireland over the past three years.

The BBC’s Countryfile programme tomorrow is highlighting the importance of maintaining limestone pavement as a unique natural habitat. Speaking in an interview from the Burren on the programme, Friends of the Irish Environment’s Tony Lowes explained that ‘The European Commission has just entered a case against Ireland in the European Court of Justice for its failure to control quarrying. The developers are actually quarrying and then looking for permission and of course this is the wrong way, you're supposed to assess your impact before you start."

Commenting on the programme, FIE suggested that the scale of quarrying of limestone for garden centres which concerned the BBC paled into insignificance when compared with some of the unauthorised Irish quarries which even supplied EU funded road projects.

‘On the one hand, the Commission is concerned because operations commence or continue without an appropriate environmental impact assessment. On the other hand, they are concerned that enforcement proceedings are virtually ineffective.’

The Commission’s case now before the Court highlights the fact that under present procurement procedures local authorities and the National Roads Authority are openly purchasing quarried materials from quarries without planning permission.

‘This makes it difficult for an impartial observer to take seriously Ireland’s claim that it has an effective planning enforcement system.’

FIE said that the infringement proceedings demonstrated the need for a separate national planning enforcement authority.

Countryfile will be broadcast on BBC 1 on Sunday June 4 at 11.30 am.

Verification: Annabelle Rowe
Director, BBC Countryfile
Tel: 0121 567 6532

Tony Lowes
Director, Friends of the Irish Environment
027 73131 / 087 2176316

Website
Photo of the destruction of many acres of karst limestone without assessment or planning permission at Welby’s Quarry, Moycullen, Co. Galway that forms part of the Commission’s case:
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/docs/moycul....html

Photographs of unauthorised quarries in Monahan and Westmeath, together with An Taisce’s request to COMHAR to investigate purchases for national roadworks from unauthorised quarries.
http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/main/downlo...id=29