The Meagher Case and the Executive Implementation of European Directives in Ireland
| Author | Gerard Hogan |
| DOI | 10.1177/1023263X9500200205 |
| Published date | 01 June 1995 |
| Date | 01 June 1995 |
Gerard Hogan.'
The Meagher Case and the Executive Implementation of
European Directives in Ireland
§1. Introduction
The
Irish record withregard to the implementation
of
ED directives is a relatively good
one. This record is, however, achieved at a price, since most directives are imple-
mented by ministerial order under s.3 of the European Communities Act,1972.In this
note, which describes this executive method
of
implementation, it is hoped to draw
attention to what is an important aspect
of
the democratic deficit, namely, the absence
of
any proper or effective parliamentary scrutiny in Ireland of thevast majority of
national measures giving effect to suchdirectives.
There are three methods by which such directives havebeen transposed into Irish law.
The
first is bymeans
of
ordinary
primary
legislation by Act
of
Parliament
('Oireachtas'). I
The
second - andfar and awaythemost commonlyinvoked method -
is by meansofstatutory instrument (a form
of
secondary legislation) which is usually
made by a Government Minister under the European Communities Act,1972.The third
procedure - that
of
implementation by administrative circular - has nowfalleninto
disuse after the Irish High Court ruledthatit was notan appropriate method
of
imple-
menting EC Directives. 2
*
1.
2.
174
Law School. Trinity College. Dublin; Barrister.
The
Oireachtas
is the name
of
the Irish Parliament. It consists of a lower House (Dai!) and an upper
House (Senate). together with the President:see Kelly,TheIrish
Constitution
(Butterworths, 1994) at
102-148.
Brownev.An Bord
Pleanala
[1991) 2 Irish Reports 209. The Court applieda seriesof decisionsof
the
Court
of Justice condemning the use ofadministrative circulars as a meansofimplementing
directives: see
e.g.
the comments of the Court in
Case
145/82
Commission
v. Italy[1983] ECR 711
to the effect that
'mere
administrative practices, which by theirnature may be altered at the whim of
the authorities and lack the appropriate publicity cannot be regarded as a validfulfilment of the obliga-
tions imposedbyArticle189 of the Treaty on
Member
States to whicbthe directives are addressed.'
MJ 2 (1995)
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