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Permanent Representätion

of Ireland

 

to the European Union

Ms Catherine Day "DG ENY |

Secretary-General
Secretariat-General

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Commission ofthe European Communities 13.06. 2007 |
200 Rue de laLoi ee
B1049 Brussels Aa. GE
Belgium IRFTR

 

11 June 2007

Reasoned Opinion - Infringement No. 1994 / 2238

Dear Secretary-General

I have been asked by my authorities to refer to the Reasoned Opinion addressed to Ireland by
the European Commission under Article 228 of the Treaty (reference SG-Greffe (2007)
D/201417) relating to measures taken to comply with the Judgment of the European Court of
Justice on 11 March 2004 in Case C-396/01 regarding implementation of the Nitrates Directive
(Council Directive 91/676/EEC).

The Reasoned Opinion alleges failure by Ireland to take all the necessary measures to comply
with the judgment by reason of the inadequacy of the penalty provisions of the European
Communities (Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No.
378 of 2006). These Regulations were made in July 2006 under the European Communities
Act, 1972 and they provide for the maximum penalties permitted under that Act at the time of
the making of the Regulations. My authorities wish to advise that the Act has been amended
very recently by the European Communities Act, 2007 (No. 18 of 2007) which allows for,
inter alia, increased maximum penalties to be prescribed by such Regulations. A copy of the
Bill.as passed by Däil Fireann, the Lower House in Parliament, is attached and when the
printed copy of the enactment is available it will be forwarded to the Commission.

My authorities wish to confirm that, as indicated in previous correspondence, new Regulations
will be made to provide for a significant increase in penalties under the European Communities
(Good Agricultural Practice for Protection of Waters) Regulations for the purpose of securing
compliance with the judgment. It is envisaged that the new Regulations will be made later in
the month and will be notified to the Commission without delay.

Yours sincerely

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Deputy Permanent Representative

cc Mr. Mogens Peter Carl, Director General

(all DG Environment)

REPRESENTATION PERMANENTE DE L’IRLANDE AUPRES DE L'’UNION EUROPEENNE

Rue Froissart 89-93, 1040 Bruxelles Tel. 02 230 85 80 Fax 02 230 32 03

BILLE NA gCOMHPHOBAL EORPACH 2006
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BILL 2006

Mar a ritheadh ag Däil Eireann
As passed by Däil Eireann

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section
1. Definitions.

2. Amendment of section 3 of Act of 1972.
3. Regulations to which section 3(3) of Act of 1972 applies.

4. Power to give effect to European acts under statutes other
than Act of 1972.

5. Validation of certain statutory instruments.

6. Short title and collective citation.

[No. 615 of 2006]

ACTS REFERRED TO

European Communities Act 1972 1972, No. 27
European Communities Acts 1972 10 2006
Ministers and Seeretarices (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1977 1977, No. 28

5

10

15

20

25

30

 

BILLE NA gCOMHPHOBAL EORPACH 2006
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BILL 2006

BILL

entitled

AN ACT TO AMEND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ACT

1972 FOR THE PURPOSE OF ALLOWING OFFENCES
UNDER REGULATIONS UNDER THAT ACT TO BE
PROSECUTED ON INDICTMENT; TO MAKE PROVISION
IN RELATION TO THE TRANSPOSITION OF PRO-
VISIONS OF THE TREATIES GOVERNING, AND ACTS
OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF, THE EUROPEAN COM-
MUNITIES UNDER ACTS OF THE OIREACHTAS
OTHER THAN THAT ACT; AND TO PROVIDE FOR
MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

1.—In this Act—
“Act of 1972” means the European Communities Act 1972;

“European act” means—

(a) a provision of the treaties governing the European Com-
munities, or

(b) an act, or provision of an act, adopted by an institution of
the European Communities or any other body competent
under those treaties;

“European Communities” has the same meaning as it has in the Act
of 1972;

“statute” means—

(a) an Act of the Oireachtas, or

(b) astatute that was in force in Saorstät Eircann immediately
before the date of the coming into operation of the Con-
stitution and that continues to be of full force and effect
by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution;

“statutory instrument” means an order, regulation, rule, scheme or
bye-law made in exercise of a power conferred by statute;

3

Definitions.

Amendment of
section 3 of Act of

1972.

Regulations to
which section 3(3)
of Acı of 1972

applies.

“treaties governing the European Communities” has the same mean-
ing as it has in the Act of 1972.

2.—Section 3 of the Act of 1972 is amended by—

(a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection

(3):

“(3) Regulations under this section may—

and

(a) make provision for offences under the regu-

lations to be prosecuted on indictment, where
the Minister of the Government making the
regulations considers it necessary for the pur-
pose of giving full effect t0—

(i) a provision of the treaties governing the
European Communities, OT

(ii) an act, or provision of an act, adopted by
an institution of the European Communi-
ties or any other body competent under
those treaties,

and

(b) make such provision as that Minister of the

Government considers necessary for the pur-
pose of ensuring that penalties in respect of an
offence prosecuted in that manner are effective
and proportionate, and have a deterrent effect,
having regard to the acts or omissions of which
the offence consists, provided that the
maximum fine (if any) shall not be greater than
€500,000 and the maximum term of imprison-
ment (if any) shall not be greater than 3
years.”,

(b) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(5) In this section—

‘maximum fine’ means the maximum fine to which a per-
son shall be liable on conviction on indictment of an

offence;

‘maximum term of imprisonment’ means the maximum
term of imprisonment to which a person shall be liable on
conviction on indietment of an offence.”.

3.—The Act of 1972 is amended by the insertion of the following

section:

“3A.—Every regulation to which subsection (3) (inserted by
section 2(a) of the European Communities Act 2007) of section
3 of this Act applies shall be laid before each House of the
Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution
annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within
the next 21 days on which that House sits after the regulation is

4

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but
without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done
thereunder.”.

4.—(1) A power to make a statutory instrument conferred on a
Minister of the Government by a provision of a statute may be exer-
cised for the purpose of giving effect to a European act if the obli-
gations imposed on the State under the European act concerned
relate, in whole, to matters to which that provision relates.

(2) A statutory instrument made for a purpose referred to in sub-
section (1) may contain such incidental, supplementary and conse-
quential provisions as appear to the Minister of the Government
making the statutory instrument to be necessary for the purposes of
the statutory instrument (including provisions repealing, amending
or applying, with or without modification, other law, exclusive of this
Act, the Act of 1972 and the provision of the statute under which
the statutory instrument is made).

(3) Where a statutory instrument is made for a purpose referred
to in subsecrion {l), the statutory instrument, or the preamble or
recital to the statutory instrument, shall specify the European act to
which the statutory instrument gives effect.

(4) Section 2 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) (No.
2) Act 1977 shall not apply to a power to make a statutory instrument
for a purpose referred to in subsection (I).

(5) This section applies to a power that, but for this section, would
not be exercisable for the purpose of giving effect to a European act.

5,—(1) Every statutory instrument made before the passing of
this Act—

(a) under a provision of a statute that did not provide for the
exercise of the power conferred by that provision for the
purpose of giving effect to a European act, and

(b) that purported to give effect to a European act,

shall, in so far as it purported to give such effect, have statutory
effect as if it were an Act of the Oireachtas.

(2) If subsection (1) would, but for this subsection, conflict with a
constitutional right of any person, the operation of that subsection
shall be subject to such limitation as is necessary to secure that it
does not so conflict but shall otherwise be of full force and effect.

6.—(1) This Act may be cited as the European Communities
Act 2007.

(2) The European Communities Acts 1972 to 2006 and this Act
may be cited together as the European Communities Acts 1972 to
2007.

Power to give effect
to European acts
under slatutes other
than Act of 1972,

Validation of
certain statutory
instruments.

Short tille and
collective citation.