The European Court of Justice has ruled that the Irish Government has failed to comply with its obligations under the waste directive, by tolerating unauthorised landfills over long periods of time.
In a judgment delivered this morning, the court found that the Irish authorities had not ensured that all municipal landfills held permits, as required by the directive.
It found the authorities in Ireland had tolerated unauthorised activities in numerous places, often over long periods, and failed to require that those activities be brought to an end. It said this failure was general and persistent in nature.
As a result of these failures, the court found that Ireland had not fulfilled other obligations under the directive.
It said the disposal or recovery of waste without risk to public health and the environment, the establishment of an adequate network for waste disposal and the inspection of waste holders and operators dealing with waste were possible only if an effective permit system was in place.
The European Court's ruling came about as a result of 12 complaints concerning waste management in Ireland, made to the European Commission between 1997 and 2000.
In 2001, the commission issued a reasoned opinion alleging that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive.
The commission took the view that the Irish authorities had not complied with the reasoned opinion and then referred the case to the European Court of Justice.
