Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified ten industrial and waste licensed facilities as National Priority Sites, due to non-compliance issues including odour emissions and unauthorised discharges to waterways.
The EPA undertook more than 1,300 inspections at 634 licensed industrial and waste facilities in 2024, and found that food and drink facilities, along with waste sites, continue to dominate its priority list, as published in its Industrial and Waste Licence Enforcement Summary 2024.
Legal actions taken last year resulted in a fine as high as €500,000 in one case. However, the EPA noted that complaints received about licensed sites fell by 46% between 2021 and 2024.
Polluter pays
“Recent convictions in the Courts of two sites on the EPA’s priority list, Killarney Waste Disposal Unlimited Company in 2024 and Aurivo Dairy Ingredients Ltd in 2025, attracted fines and penalties of €500,000 and €350,000 respectively,” commented Dr Tom Ryan, director of the EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement.
Ryan added that these convictions, and the fines imposed, represent an “important endorsement of the ‘polluter pays’ principle” in Ireland.
“However, with the appropriate management commitment to environmental protection and to sufficient investment in infrastructure, particularly in the treatment of wastewater, all of these sites can comply with statutory requirements and be good neighbours to local communities,” he added. “Companies that fail to respect their licence conditions, cause nuisance to neighbours and put the environment at risk will be held to account by EPA.”
The priority list for the first quarter of 2025 is also available, and features three sites Kingspan Building Products, in Co. Cavan (for air emissions and facility management issues), Timoleague Agri Gen in Co. Cork (for infrastructure and facility management issues) and Tipperary Co-Operative Creamery in Co. Tipperary (for discharges to water and infrastructure).
‘Escalate enforcement’
“While there has been a notable reduction in complaints from the public in the vicinity of licensed facilities, these remain a valuable source of intelligence for our enforcement activity,” Pamela Mc Donnell, programme manager, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, added.
“The EPA will continue to escalate its enforcement activities at those sites with the poorest compliance records.” Read more here.
