Kildare County Council named in EU peat extraction enforcement case
The EPA has described illegal large-scale peat extraction as "widespread"
Kildare is among seven local authority areas identified in a European Commission case that has seen Ireland referred to the European Court of Justice over failures to tackle illegal peat extraction.
The Commission announced this week that it is taking legal action against Ireland, claiming authorities have failed to stop significant levels of peat-cutting taking place without planning permission or environmental assessments.
Kildare County Council was one of seven local authorities to receive dossiers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2024 relating to sample peat extraction sites below the 50-hectare licensing threshold. The EPA had sought enforcement action against operators it believed were operating outside planning and environmental laws.
However, according to the European Commission, no enforcement action followed.
The EPA has described illegal large-scale peat extraction as "widespread" and said the sector is not operating within planning or environmental regulations. Commercial operators are estimated to export around 370,000 tonnes of peat annually, valued at approximately €40 million.
The Commission said Ireland introduced legislation in 2019 requiring environmental assessments and planning permission for commercial peat extraction, but claimed these changes were not backed up by adequate enforcement.
Several local authorities previously stated that limited planning, legal and financial resources made enforcement proceedings difficult to pursue.
The Government has announced plans for a regional enforcement authority, but no timeframe has yet been provided for its establishment.