Even the most neutral of observers will agree that Ireland’s commitment to environmental issues was almost non-existent prior to our membership of the European Union. Indeed, it wasn’t until 1977 that the word “environment” was attached to a government department.
The European Commission’s first environmental action programme was published in 1973, the year Ireland became a member of what was then the EEC. Since then the comprehensive body of environmental policy developed by the EU has served to transform Irish environmental policy, which now not only keeps pace with broader EU policy but in some cases outstrips it in terms of innovation and ambition. Currently, there are 200 pieces of environmental legislation in Ireland, mostly derived from EU environmental law, regulating key environmental dimensions such as water quality, waste management, nature preservation, chemicals, air quality, the environmental effects of agriculture and industry, and pollution of our waterways.
“If we look back over the past 50 years acknowledgment has to be given that EU environmental policy has driven many of the positive changes we have seen in Ireland in the environmental area,” says Barbara Nolan, head of the European Commission’s representation in Dublin.
But that path hasn’t always run smoothly. Nolan admits there have been “tensions” regarding Ireland’s implementation of EU environmental legislation. “If we go back to 2006 or 2007, Ireland was one of the member states with one of the highest number of environmental infringement cases,” she says. “All member states have infringements of EU law across the board but Ireland has a particularly bad record with environmental laws.”
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Recent years have seen an improvement, however, with a significant reduction in the number of infringement cases. “This is an indication of how Ireland has progressed,” Nolan says.
In some of those cases – for example, the ongoing infringement procedure on the protection and conservation of raised and blanket bogs – there has been an attitude of decrying what is perceived as unnecessary European interference on Irish traditional or cultural practices. “What people forget is that Ireland is part of the EU and has a role in shaping these laws too,” Nolan points out, although she admits that some environmental issues have more “relevance” to Ireland than some other member states.
Sharon Finegan, director of the EPA with responsibility for the Office of Environmental Sustainability, tells The Irish Times that Ireland’s environmental policy has been shaped “hugely” by its membership of the EU. She explains that prior to the establishment of the EPA in1993, the responsibility of implementing EU directives had largely lain with local authorities, who often did not have the expertise to deal with environmental infringements.
The ongoing role of the EU in ensuring that pollution is prevented is one that is overlooked, Finegan says. “The directives are constantly evolving because the best available techniques [for pollution prevention] are constantly evolving. It’s not very sexy but it’s really, really important.”
She also highlights the tangible impact of the Waste Framework Directive, noting that prior to its introduction in 2008 there were over 300 active landfills in Ireland. Today there are just three. “The amount of waste going to landfill here in Ireland has decreased by over 75 per cent.”
Irish waterways had been transformed thanks to the Water Framework Directive, which requires member states to operate a river basin management system. But in recent years Irish water quality has once again been declining; the most recent EPA assessment for the period 2019-2021 found that nearly half of Ireland’s water quality is substandard. Farming run-off is a major driver of this, as is the discharge of poorly-treated sewage, says Finegan. “There is a real need for investment in the urban water treatment – that is a key pressure.”
In more recent years climate change has become a key focus for EU policy, says Finegan, functioning as an integrated objective that encompasses the overall suite of environmental challenges. The EU has consistently taken a leadership position in relation to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, she says, noting that the emissions trading scheme (ETS) has been a key mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas emission from key sectors such as electricity generation and industry.
Although an EU project of common interest, the 575km Celtic interconnector between Ireland and France will strengthen the security of our energy supply, and the war in Ukraine has imbued the race to phase out fossil fuels and rapidly scale our renewable energy capacity with additional urgency. During her recent visit to Ireland, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told the Dáil that “sitting on the edge of the Atlantic, Ireland can be a renewable superpower”.
Jim Dollard, executive director, Generation Trading ESB, notes that Ireland has transitioned very rapidly from being an almost totally fossil fuel-based economy to a point where on average over 40 per cent of all electricity is provided via renewable energy. Inclement weather means that can be closer to 60 per cent, but, says Dollard, “renewables by their nature are intermittent – it isn’t sunny or windy every day”.
The ESB believes the answer lies in green hydrogen, as do many European countries, says Dollard. “This means in periods of surplus wind you create a carbon-free gas such as green hydrogen and you can either burn it or use it to regenerate electricity. It is an old technology but one that is being deployed on a growing basis.” This approach will require significant investment in renewables, including offshore wind farms.
By devising an ambitious green hydrogen strategy, Dollard agrees with Von Der Leyen’s assessment of our potential as a “renewable superpower”.
“Ireland has significant renewables capacity already, having built a lot of onshore wind farms, but we have one of the biggest and best coastlines and wind resources in Europe on the west coast,” he says. “If we can harness it – and we believe we can – then we can export it just like gas.”
Looking to the future, Ireland is fully signed up to the EU “Green Deal”, the union’s ambitious plan to lead the world on climate change which demands immediate and significant action by member states, says Nolan. “The EU has shown it is the global leader on this, and with the Climate Action Plan Ireland has now put in place the legislation and policies to ensure that these objectives are reached. This is our ‘moonshot’.”