EU hits Ireland with a wave of infringement notices
Property services
One notice targets the provision of property services and Ireland's requirement that companies from other countries wishing to provide such services here must have authorisation and client protection schemes in their home country.
The commission argues that this requirement unfairly hinders service providers from other EU states.
'It prevents providers of property services from providing these services in Ireland if they are established in a member state where no such schemes exist,' the commission stated.
Ireland has been given two months to respond to this letter of formal notice.
Customs and banking data
Ireland is one of six countries to receive a formal notice for failing to meet its obligations on customs data transmission through the EU's digital system. Despite deadlines to comply, Ireland, Czechia, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, and Slovakia continue to use outdated formats and provide reduced datasets.
Ireland also received a letter of formal notice for failing to comply with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) by transmitting bank account information and records of banking transactions.
The commission said these are crucial for investigating fraud and corruption affecting the EU budget: 'Requirements have been in force since January 2021, yet Ireland has not notified the national authority competent to provide OLAF with bank account information and records of bank transactions.
'Hence, OLAF is unable to address any request for such information needed in the context of its investigations.'
Renewable energy
The commission said Ireland, Portugal, and Latvia failed to fully transpose into law regulations which aim to simplify and accelerate permitting procedures both for renewable energy projects and for infrastructure projects necessary to integrate the additional capacity into the electricity system.
Methane emissions
Finally, Ireland is among several countries that have breached regulations related to methane emissions.
The countries failed to appoint and notify the commission of a competent authority responsible for monitoring and enforcing the regulation's rules on methane emissions in the crude oil, natural gas, and coal sectors.
For all five formal notices, Ireland has two months with which to respond, after which the commission may issue further sanctions.
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