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, though the European Commission continued to raise concerns about the assessment.

The application for substitute consent was rejected by An Bord Pleanála on 4 February 2022, bringing the matter to an end.

Ireland will pay a final sum of €1.245 million, covering the period from 13 November 2021 to 4 February 2022, to allow the file to be closed.

In a statement, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage added: “The exact details in relation to the future of the site in terms of decommissioning and site restoration is a matter for Galway County Council and the owner of the site to address, noting the planning enforcement role of the County Council as the relevant planning authority.”