The court ruled in March 2019 that Ireland does not comply with the EU’s Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (Directive 91/271/EEC), which has been in force since the end of 2005.

The directive aims to protect people’s health and the environment by requiring that urban waste water is collected and treated before discharge into the environment.

Towns and cities need to put in place the necessary infrastructure in order to collect and treat their urban waste water. Uncollected or untreated waste water can put human health at risk and pollute lakes, rivers, soil and coastal and groundwater.

The court found that Ireland had breached the requirements of the directive in 28 agglomerations.

The European Commission says Ireland has made progress in remedying some of the breaches, for instance with the construction of the Shanbally treatment plant, but compliance has still not been achieved for 16 agglomerations covered by the judgment.

It has therefore sent a letter of formal notice to Ireland, which now has two months to respond and address the shortcomings raised by the Commission.

In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to refer Ireland to the CJEU again with a request to impose financial sanctions.