Bird Watch Ireland has welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that found the State has failed to protect wild bird species.
The court ruled that Ireland had failed to classify properly and/or protect several Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and did not fully protect threatened birds and habitats, and correctly implement provisions of the EU Birds Directive.
Dr Stephen Newton, senior conservation officer with Bird Watch Ireland, said: "One of the main issues against the Irish State was its failure to 'translate' IBAs identified in 2000, including important breeding sites for species such as Sandwich Tern and Corncrake . . . into Special Protection Areas.
"These sites then deteriorated for a variety of reasons by the mid 1990s, to such an extent that the local extinction of the species concerned occurred," added Dr Newton.
The court found that the loss of corncrake in the Moy Valley was the result of changes in agricultural practices, which Ireland took no steps to remedy.
Siobhán Egan, Policy Officer with Bird Watch Ireland, said the judgement was a clear signal to the Government that it "needs urgently to make up for lost time and put in place the necessary protection measures for threatened bird species and habitats".