The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the State parties in a dispute over whether veterinary medicine packaging and information must be provided in Irish as well as English. It upheld a declaration that Ireland had not correctly transposed the relevant language requirements of an EU directive, while limiting the declaration to the State and its bodies.
The judgment, delivered by Gerard Hogan on 11 January 2022, concerned an Irish-speaking veterinary products consumer who lives in Connemara. He argued that national regulations allowed product information to be supplied in English or Irish, rather than requiring both official languages, and did not properly implement the directive’s requirements.
The High Court had previously found the relevant directive provisions directly effective and declared parts of the 2007 regulations ultra vires. After a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the High Court in June 2021 granted declarations that included a direction requiring the State respondents to amend national law. The State parties appealed that decision.
The Court of Appeal considered the language requirements for veterinary product labels, packaging and leaflets. Hogan said the applicable directive provisions required information in the official languages of the member state where the products were marketed. He concluded that the relevant provisions were clear, precise and unconditional, and that the consumer could rely on them in the case.
The judgment also addressed the limits of setting aside national law that conflicts with an EU directive. Hogan said it remained uncertain whether a national court could invalidate transposing measures with general effect in these circumstances. The court did not refer that question to the EU court, citing the impending change in the law on 28 January 2022 and the risk that a reference would become pointless.
The court declared that the State had failed to transpose the relevant requirements correctly because the 2007 instruments did not require the relevant packaging, labelling or leaflet information to appear in both Irish and English. It specified that the declaration binds only the State and its bodies and does not apply to private entities such as manufacturers or suppliers.
The court set aside the High Court’s declarations numbered 2 and 3, including its direction to introduce amending legislation, and said it was unnecessary to decide whether the court had jurisdiction to make such an order. The appeal was otherwise dismissed. Hogan gave a provisional view that the consumer should be entitled to have costs considered, with parties invited to contact the Registrar within 14 days if they disputed that view.