The European Commission has taken Ireland to Europe's highest court over its policy of setting a minimum price on tobacco products to protect public health.
It has also begun legal action over the Government's failure to fully implement EU rules prohibiting job discrimination on the grounds of religion, belief, age, disability and sexual orientation.
The commission yesterday pinpointed several areas where Irish law does not offer adequate protection. These include not allowing rights groups to participate in legal proceedings on behalf of victims; setting limits on damages; excluding certain "private" types of employment from the scope of the law; and allowing too much leeway for exceptions on the grounds of religion.
"In some cases, legislation still needs to be improved if those rights are to be put into practice," said Commissioner Vladimir Spidla, who urged Ireland and 10 other states to transpose correctly the Employment Equality Directive.
This directive aims to provide adequate protection to victims of job discrimination and has to be implemented through national law by EU states. If Ireland does not amend its law, it could face a case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg.
Meanwhile, the commission announced yesterday that it would take Ireland to the ECJ over its policy of setting minimum prices on tobacco products. "Such minimum prices infringe community law, distort competition and benefit only manufacturers, by safeguarding their profit margins. To achieve the objective of reducing tobacco consumption, the commission advocates increasing the excise duty on cigarettes," said the commission yesterday.
Under an agreement with the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers' Advisory Committee, the Department of Health has a minimum price for 20 cigarettes of about €1.30. This was set using information on volume sales supplied by the tobacco companies for filtered and unfiltered cigarettes.
The Government says the agreement with the tobacco manufacturers was made for the primary purpose of preventing low-cost selling of tobacco products.
The minimum retail price for a packet of 20 cigarettes undermines the ability of retailers to provide cut-price offers on certain brands.
Price control is also seen as a viable way of protecting children from becoming addicted to cigarettes and of encouraging smokers to quit, according to the department.
A Government spokeswoman said last night Ireland would defend its position on this important public health measure before the ECJ. "The Irish Government is committed to the protection of young people before they become addicted to tobacco and the use of minimum pricing . . . is seen as an important public health tool," she added.