The Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) imposed pecuniary penalties on Ireland in November 2019 for its failure to give effect to a 2008 judgment.

The court had held in the 2008 judgment that Ireland had infringed Directive 85/337 as a result of the construction of a wild farm at Derrybrien without a prior environmental impact assessment having been carried out.

The ESB carried out an assessment of the wind farm as part of an application for substitute consent to An Bord Pleanála aimed at resolving the situation, but the European Commission has now raised concerns about the assessment.

According to RTÉ News, analysis by the European Commission has raised concerns that some information included in the report is at least 15 years out of date.

The Commission has said that “existing cracks and overall soil stability” around the wind farm must be dealt with before Ireland is in compliance with the 2008 court ruling.