COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
MOTION NO. 17
MOTION: Councillor Peter Kavanagh
"This Area Committee requests a presentation from the Council or a suitably qualified organisation on the Environmental Liabilities Directive and its relevance to the Habitats Directive and the protected annex habitats in the area delineated as Core Strategy 10 Rathcoole Specific Local Objective 1."
REPORT:
As the competent authority for Environmental Liability, the EPA will be asked to make a presentation on the Environmental Liabilities Directive and its relevance to the Habitats Directive.
The Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/EC establishes a framework based on the “polluter pays” principle to prevent and remediate environmental damage.
The framework aims at ensuring that the economic operator bears the financial consequences from harm or damage caused to the environment. “Environmental damage” is defined as damage to protected species and natural habitats, damage to water or damage to soil.
Two liability regimes are provided in the directive:
- Operators of certain activities listed in Annex III to the directive can be held liable in the event of environmental damage occurring.
- The second regime relates to damage to protected species and natural habitats caused by any activities other than those listed in Annex III.
The European Communities (Environmental Liability) Regulations 2008 came into force in Ireland on 1 April 2009.? These Regulations (SI 547 of 2008) transpose EU Directive 2004/35/CE on environmental liability with regard to the prevention and remedying of environmental damage.?
The Regulations supplement existing national and European legislation by establishing a framework of environmental liability based on the 'polluter-pays' principle, making operators of an occupational activity (defined in Regulation 2) liable for the prevention and remediation of environmental damage that they may, or have, caused.?
The Council is not an operator on the Rathcoole lands of any of the defined occupational activities.