The latest report on water quality in Ireland by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found evidence of improvements in water quality in Ireland. However, continued actions across a range of sectors are needed if Ireland is to achieve its European water quality obligations.

The report, ‘Water Quality in Ireland 2007 – 2009’, is a comprehensive review which covers 13,118 km of river and stream channel (1,700 rivers), 222 lakes, 89 estuarine and coastal water bodies and 211 groundwater monitoring stations.

Rivers

In rivers, 70% of channel is in good condition, but measures are needed to restore the quality of the 30% that was found to be polluted. The number of seriously polluted river sites was down to 20 – half that seen in 2004-2006. Increased investment in wastewater treatment has helped to eliminate some of this serious pollution. The number of fish kills was significantly down on previous periods, with 72 incidents reported in 2007-2009, compared with 120 incidents in the previous three year period.

Lakes

Lakes are generally in good condition with over 90% of lake area in satisfactory condition, but 25 lakes were still in poor or bad status – mainly due to excess phosphates causing algal blooms.

Estuaries

Of the estuaries assessed, 85% were unpolluted, while 15% were classed as eutrophic or potentially eutrophic. In terms of area, approximately 5% of tidal areas was polluted. Some significant improvements were noted where new wastewater treatment plants had been installed recently – such as Sligo and the Garavogue estuary.

Groundwaters

Monitoring of groundwaters showed a significant drop in the overall concentration of phosphates and nitrates during the period – 85% of groundwaters were in satisfactory condition – but there was an upward trend in the detection of faecal coliforms – apparently due to increased rainfall in the period.

Micheal O Cinneide, director, EPA Office of Environmental Assessment, comments: “In comparison with other EU member States, Ireland has better than average water quality. While there is evidence of an overall improvement in water quality in Ireland, further actions are essential if we are to achieve our water quality targets for 2015 and 2021 as required by the Water Framework Directive. The EPA will work with the network of local authorities, with sectoral groups and other agencies in tackling the water quality challenges.”

A key development in the last three years has been the publication of the River Basin Management Plans, including the setting of objectives for water bodies and the selection of Programmes of Measures to meet the objectives of the Water Framework Directive.

The principal and most widespread cause of water pollution in Ireland is nutrient enrichment resulting in the eutrophication of rivers, lakes and tidal waters from agricultural run-off and discharges from municipal waste treatment plants. Following the enactment of the Waste Water Discharges Regulations 2007, the EPA set up a licensing and certification regime for municipal waste water discharges, to reduce the pollution of waters by placing strict conditions on the quality of waste water discharges. The latest EPA survey shows that the investments under the Water Services programme have led to improvements in water quality.

According to Martin McGarrigle, who has a lead role in the Aquatic Environment monitoring programme in the Environmental Protection Agency: “The three challenges for water quality management are firstly, eliminating serious pollution associated with point sources, that is wastewater treatment plants; secondly, tackling diffuse pollution, meaning pollution from farming and septic tanks; and thirdly using the full range of legislative measures in an integrated way to achieve better water quality.”

Overall, 85% of groundwater bodies were of good status in accordance with the Water Framework Directive (WFD) process. Pollution of groundwater has decreased somewhat in this period with reductions in nitrate and phosphate concentrations. While the above average rainfall has played a role, it is likely that implementation of the Good Agricultural Practices Regulations and, in particular, the increase in farm storage for manure and slurry, and the reduced usage of inorganic fertilizers have been beneficial.

Donal Daly, head of the Groundwater programme in EPA, says: “Further improvements in groundwater quality are required for both environmental and public health reasons. Key measures should include the optimal application by farmers of organic and inorganic fertilizers at times and in a manner that minimises leaching, and householders ensuring that their on-site wastewater treatment systems, such as septic tanks, are located, constructed and maintained properly.”

There has been a 50% reduction in the detection of E.coli in Irish public drinking water in the last two years, according to a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This is the EPA’s third report on drinking water quality since new regulations were introduced in 2007 providing for a greater level of consumer protection.

The regulations require all local authorities to notify the EPA where there is a potential risk to human health, and to comply with directions given by the EPA.

Dara Lynott, director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement.

Commenting on the report Dara Lynott, director, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement, says: “The EPA targeted a reduction in the detection of E.coli in drinking water in recent years and today we are seeing the success of this programme with a 50% reduction in two years. Despite this reduction investment needs to be maintained to bring detection levels in line with other EU countries.”

Safety of Supply

Almost 250,000 monitoring tests against national and EU standards are carried out on the safety of our drinking water annually. In relation to the safety of our drinking water, this comprehensive testing regime shows:

* E. coli was detected at least once in 27 out of 944 public water supplies in 2009. This figure is down from 39 in the previous year (2008).

* The number of private group water schemes where E. coli was detected dropped from 134 in 2008 to 87 in 2009.  However, despite this improvement, 17% of private group water schemes were contaminated at least once during 2009.

* Overall compliance with the chemical standards was at 99.2% in 2009. This is a drop from 99.5% in 2008 because of poorer compliance with the new trihalomethanes standard.

* Compliance with some indicator parameters, in particular compliance with aluminium and turbidity parametric values, remains an area for improvement.

Security of Supply

In relation to the security of water supplies (that is, the management of the risks from the source water, through the drinking water treatment plant and supply network to our taps):

* The EPA had identified 339 supplies in need of remedial action in early 2008 and placed them on a Remedial Action List.  Of those, 42 per cent (142) have been removed as the necessary remedial actions have been completed. This includes the public water supplies in Limerick, Galway and Waterford cities which were upgraded in recent years.

* At the end of 2010 there were 264 supplies on the EPA’s Remedial Action List. This includes 67 new supplies added to the list since it was first published in 2008.

* Boil water notices or restrictions of use were put in place on 53 supplies serving approximately 93,000 persons in 2009. Adverse weather conditions in November 2009 alone led to the imposition of boil water notices on 10 public water supplies.

* 44 legally binding directions were issued by the EPA to 16 local authorities in 2008 and 28 legally binding directions to nine local authorities in 2009.

Gerard O’Leary, programme manager, EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, says: “The focused investment in water treatment plants at risk of failing to meet drinking water standards has brought about much needed improvements to our drinking water infrastructure. An additional 500,000 people are now served by supplies that have been removed from our Remedial Action List.”

All the lectures from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) climate change lecture series are now available on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/EPAIreland. On 23rd November 2010 Mary Robinson spoke to a record crowd at the EPA’s lecture in the Mansion House.  The focus of her lecture, Reshaping the Debate on Climate Change , was about the need to address the issue of justice in the developing world while addressing the pressing issue of climate change. This lecture is now also available on the EPA’s YouTube channel.

The EPA has also uploaded many other videos on environmental themes. These include:

* A Burning Question, the Duncan Stewart/RTE full-length documentary on climate change;

* Excerpts from the Eco-Eye TV series – covering issues such as water quality, waste production, biodiversity, Green Schools and the Green Home programme and many other environmental issues;

* An animated video about what the EPA does.

“The EPA is always looking at new ways to engage with new audiences. People who are actively seeking specific information use social media channels such as YouTube and we have established our own channel recently to facilitate these users. We are finding it a useful way to provide environmental information to a wider audience who can spread the information among their own online networks,” explains Dr Matt Crowe, director of the EPA’s Office of Communications and Corporate Services.

The EPA lecture series continues in 2011 with lecture 12: Climate Change – The Transport Challenge on Tuesday 1st February and lecture 13: Climate Change & Agriculture: ensuring food production is not threatened on Tuesday 15th March. Both of these talks will also be made available on YouTube.

The EPA has also established Twitter feeds. See www.twitter.com/EPAClimateNews for short, timely updates from the EPA’s Climate Change Unit.

Following on the success of the climate change lecture series 2007-2010 the Environmental Protection Agency will host two further climate change lectures in early 2011. The lectures are aimed at providing updates from the science of climate change as well as the policy and political response to this global challenge. As in the earlier lectures, speakers include top international experts in science, economics and technology.

The next lecture will be given by Prof Julia King, Vice-Chancellor of Aston University. The lecture will take place on Tuesday 1st February 2011. The lectures will be chaired by Dr John Bowman.

1 Technologies for Sustainable Transport.

Speaker: Prof. Julia King, Vice-Chancellor, Aston University. She is the lead member of the King Review, which is charged under the Chancellor of the Exchequer with examining how vehicle and fuel technologies could help to reduce carbon emissions from road transport.

Date: Tuesday 1st February, 6.30-8.00 pm

Venue: The Round Room, The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

2 Climate Change & Agriculture: Ensuring food production is not threatened.

Speaker: Dr Wendy Mann, Food & Agriculture Organisation, UN.

Date: Tuesday 15th March 2011, 6.30-8.00 pm

Venue: The Round Room, The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin 2.

Attendance is free, but advance booking is essential. Booking and enquiries to Clara Clark on Tel 01 2898533, Email clara@claraclark.ie,

BOOK EARLY TO SECURE YOUR PLACE

The latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report on dioxin levels in the Irish environment shows that the dioxin levels in all of the samples were well below the relevant EU limits. The report also shows that dioxin levels measured in this survey compare favourably with those taken from similar surveys in the EU and other countries. The report is based on dioxin levels measured in cows’ milk in a 2009 survey.

Commenting on the results, Dr Colman Concannon, Regional Chemist, EPA Office of Environmental Assessment, says: “The concentrations of dioxins were low by international standards and comparisons. A total of 37 samples were taken and the average level was less than 10% of the EU limit. This is the seventh such survey undertaken by the EPA since 1995 and the results are in line with the earlier studies. The survey confirms the continuing low levels of dioxins and dioxin-like substances in the Irish environment.”

In 2009, the survey included measurement of dioxin levels in the area of County Carlow near where the feed contamination incident occurred in 2008. No elevated levels of dioxins were recorded.

The principal mechanism for the entry of dioxins into the environment in Ireland is by low-level emissions from multiple combustion sources to the atmosphere, with subsequent deposition onto vegetation such as grass. Any dioxins on grass ingested by cows tend to concentrate in the milk fat. Hence, sampling for dioxin levels in the milk of grazing cows is the approach adopted.

The survey was carried out in June and early July 2009, during the peak outdoor grazing season, by taking a series of milk samples mainly from representative regional dairies. Additional samples were also taken from localities that might be seen as areas of potential risk of raised dioxin levels.

In view of the increased international awareness of the presence in the environment of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) and brominated dioxins (PBDD/PBDF), a broad range of these substances was also tested in the survey. However, only Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) were detected. The range for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs) (5 samples) was 65 to 332 ng/kg fat with a mean of 143 ng/kg fat, in line with the levels found in the three previous surveys in 2006, 2007 and 2008. These levels are relatively low by international comparisons.

Environmental resources have been developed by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the EPA to support primary and second level teachers who are exploring the key environmental issues facing Ireland today. The resources are:

* Eco Detectives, a teacher resource pack of environmental and climate change investigations for primary schools, produced by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in conjunction with the Centre for Human Rights and Citizenship Education at St. Patrick’s College, Dublin; and

* 2020 Vision: A Closer Look at Ireland’s Environment, a multimedia resource for second-level teachers of Transition Year, CSPE, Science or Junior Cycle Geography produced by the Environmental Protection Agency.

”The activities in the primary school workbooks will make the children feel as if they are real eco-detectives with lots of outdoor investigations and experiments for them to take part in. Learning about climate change and the environment should be appealing and fun and I believe these resources are the way forward in addressing attitudes and behaviour in Ireland today and for its future generations,” explains Ciaran Cuffe, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

“The second-level resources are based around the EPA’s vision of the Irish environment to the year 2020. By then lots of the students who will have used these materials in schools across the country will be young adults, well-versed in the values of sustainable living. My hope is that the resources will influence a generation of young people to have a lifelong passion for the environment,” comments Dr Mary Kelly, director general of the Environmental Protection Agency. “In developing these resources we have worked with teachers to ensure that they are tailored to deliver what the professionals have told us will work best in the classroom.”

Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas emissions fell by 5.4 million tonnes (7.9%) in 2009, according to provisional Greenhouse Gas emissions figures just released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Agriculture remains the single largest contributor to the overall emissions, at 29.1% of the total, followed by energy (primarily power generation) and transport both at 21.1% share. The remainder is made up by the industry and commercial at 14.8%, the residential sector at 12.0% and waste at 1.9%.

The figures show that, while Ireland’s Kyoto limit in the period 2008-2012 is 62.84 million tonnes per annum, Ireland’s combined emissions in 2008 and 2009 were 6.2 million tonnes above this limit when account is taken of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and of approved Forest Sinks.

Dr Mary Kelly, director general of EPA.

”The magnitude of the reduction in Ireland’s annual Greenhouse Gas emissions in 2009 is unprecedented. In particular the 20% cut in emissions from the industry and commercial sector reflects the impact which the severe economic recession is having on industrial output in Ireland,” comments Dr Mary Kelly, director general of EPA.

“While the reduction is welcome in terms of meeting our emission limits for 2008-2012 under the Kyoto Protocol, we need to use this opportunity to embed fundamental emission reductions in the economy in order to meet the very stringent EU 2020 limits which we face and to move permanently to a low carbon economy. We should not rely on a recession to meet our targets for the future.”

Dr Ken Macken, programme manager, EPA, adds: “For the first time in the twenty years for which Greenhouse Gas emissions have been published, this year EPA is reporting reductions in every sector across the board. While some of these reflect the impact of the many improvements which have already been taken to reduce our emissions, it is important to ensure further measures are taken in order to meet our emission limits for 2020 and beyond.”

The provisional summary report of Ireland’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2009 can be found on the EPA Website at www.epa.ie/whatwedo/climate/emissionsinventoriesandprojections/nationalemissionsinventores/.

Sectoral Changes

Changes to sectoral emissions between 2008 and 2009 are as follows:
Industry and Commercial – Emissions decreased by 2.3 million tonnes (20.0%) from 11.6 million tonnes in 2008 to 9.3 million tonnes in 2009 reflecting decreases in CO2 from combustion sources and from cement production. In particular, emissions from the cement sector alone decreased by 1.3 million tonnes (38%).

Energy – Emissions in 2009 were 1.6 million tonnes lower than in 2008 which represents a 10.7% decrease. This reflects a reduced demand for electricity from end-users in Ireland. In addition, the contribution of renewables such as wind in electricity consumption increased to 14.1% in 2009 from 11.7% in 2008. Carbon-intensive fuels in power generation decreased in 2009 relative to 2008.

Transport emissions were 1.1 million tonnes lower in 2009 than in 2008.

Transport - Transport emissions were 1.1 million tonnes lower in 2009 than in 2008. This represents a decrease of 7.7%, following sustained increases in this sector since 1990. The decrease primarily reflects the impact of the economic downturn plus the changes in vehicle registration tax and road tax introduced in mid 2008. Emissions in 2009 were 156% higher than the 1990 transport emissions.

Agriculture - The emissions from agriculture decreased by 0.3 million tonnes (1.5%) in 2009, continuing the downward trend from the 1998 peak. The decline in emissions primarily reflects lower sheep and swine numbers as well as a reduction in gas oil use on farms.

Residential – Emissions in 2009 decreased by 699,111 tonnes (0.9%) from the 2008 level. This reflects a slight reduced demand for energy from the residential sector despite 2009 being similar weather wise to 2008.

Waste – Emissions for this sector show a decrease of 52,754 tonnes (4.2%) below the 2008 level which reflects increased methane flaring relative to 2008. Emissions in 2009 are 7.8 % lower than in 1990. The EPA continues to take account of data received from operators on the proportion of methane that is flared and utilised and therefore excluded from emissions reported under the waste sector.

As part of a concerted effort to green the Wexford Festival Opera, 16 Wexford businesses were certified ‘green’ at a recent awards ceremony held at the Wexford Opera House. The 16 premises have met with environmental standards set down by the Green Hospitality Programme (GHP) and €concertive and are leading the way to making Wexford a green destination for visitors and business.

Examples of exemplary savings, both monetary and resource efficiency, include the Riverbank Hotel which has cut it its water bill by €35,000 per annum through leak detection and improved water efficiency and the Maldron Hotel, Wexford which has taken measures to cut its waste bill by 50% and has recently reduced water consumption by 40%.

Funded by the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Waste Prevention Programme, the project has proven extremely successful to date, with more than 30 businesses around County Wexford signed up to the ‘Green Aware’ programme. All of these businesses are striving to achieve environmental certification, in the form of the Green Hospitality ‘Eco-label’ or the ‘€concertive Eco-cert’. Both of these labels are EPA recognised environmental management programmes for small businesses.

If the participant businesses can reduce water and energy use, and cut the amount of waste they produce, they will assist in reducing the environmental impact of the Wexford Festival Opera, whilst also saving significant amounts of money for their businesses/

Dr Gerry Byrne, EPA programme manager.

“The dedication of businesses in Wexford to green Wexford Festival Opera has been phenomenal,” says Dr Gerry Byrne, EPA programme manager. “We believe it is just the start of a process to move Wexford towards becoming a ‘green destination’ and promote itself as being more sustainable for future visitors and businesses.”

Participating businesses in greening Wexford Festival Opera will be listed in a ‘Green Trail’, which maps out a route for visitors to the festival – so that they can choose to support the green businesses and make their own Opera experience a more environmentally friendly one.

The ‘Green Aware’ Programme is also encouraging Wexford homes to participate in the An Taisce Green Home Programme. The Programme assists volunteers to find out how they can make their homes greener by reducing water usage, waste generation, and energy consumption, and by learning about composting and sustainable transport. In turn, they too can save money on their household bills.

Community leaders, individuals, politicians, local authority staff and people with an interest in reuse, recycling and community work are encouraged to attend the ‘Preventing Waste, Strengthening Communities Conference’ at the Civic Centre in Ballymun, Dublin 9 on Thursday, 7th October 2010. Organised by the all-island Community Recycling Network, this one-day event will include international speakers Pauline Hinchion from Zero Waste Scotland and Marc Willem from KOMOSIE in Belgium, who will lead lively discussion and equip delegates with the knowledge and motivation to help progress and develop the community reuse and recycling sector.

“The Preventing Waste, Strengthening Communities Conference will be a vibrant event that will provide ideas and solutions on how to reuse materials and prevent waste in the community while create training and job opportunities too,” says John Scally, chairman of the network. “The one day conference, as well as offering plenty of networking opportunities, will feature informative and motivational contributions from high-profile Irish and international experts.”

The conference will focus on Reuse in Practice, Valuing Social Enterprise, Reuse in Europe, and Employment, Training, and Social Exclusion.

* Pauline Hinchion, one of the speakers, is the Chief Executive of the Community Recycling Network for Scotland and will be using her experience to engage with attendees on best practice reuse centres in Scotland and how these have developed.

* Marc Willem will provide a European perspective on protecting the environment and providing job opportunities, as he is a member of Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises (RREUSE).

* Sean Coughlan, CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, will speak about the value of social enterprise, highlighting how communities all around Ireland have benefitted from the diverse range of projects started by social entrepreneurs and why investing in social enterprise is a value for money investment.

The event is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, rx3 and the Department of Environment Northern Ireland. For more information on the Preventing Waste, Strengthening Communities Conference or to register for €20, please visit www.crni.ie.

The Environment Ireland 2010 conference will take place at the Croke Park Conference Centre on: Tuesday 14th September.

Environment Ireland, now in its sixth year, is Ireland’s largest conference on environmental policy and management. The conference is organised in association with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The conference is attended each year by delegates representing all the major sectors with an interest in Ireland’s environment, including many from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Environment and the green economy’. Much has been made of realising the potential of the green economy. The conference will focus on key aspects of the green economy: the eco-efficient economy; a sustainable urban future; renewable energy; and investing in water, waste water and waste infrastructure.

The conference will look at the practical aspects of further developing each of these sectors. The water and waste water sector is currently worth over Eur1 billion per year; renewable energy is worth Eur700 million annually; and the waste sector is worth an estimated Eur500 million per year. Despite the economic difficulties all these sectors will see significant investment in the coming years.

For further information on the programme content, details about the speakers and information on registration and the conference programme visit www.epa.ie/news/events.

The sixth Environment Ireland conference will take place on Tuesday 14th September 2010 in the Croke Park Conference Centre, Dublin.

Environment Ireland is Ireland’s largest conference on environmental policy and management. The conference is organised in association with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

The conference is attended each year by delegates representing all the major sectors with an interest in Ireland’s environment, including many from Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Environment and the green economy’. Much has been made of realising the potential of the green economy. The conference will focus on key aspects of the green economy: the eco-efficient economy; a sustainable urban future; renewable energy; and investing in water, waste water and waste infrastructure.

The conference will look at the practical aspects of further developing each of these sectors. The water and wastewater sector is currently worth over Eur1 billion per year; renewable energy is worth Eur700 million annually; and the waste sector is worth an estimated Eur500 million per year. Despite the economic difficulties all these sectors will see significant investment in the coming years.

For further information on the programme content, details about the speakers and information on registration view the conference programme at www.epa.ie/news/events/.

The repatriation of waste which originated in the Republic of Ireland but which was illegally disposed of at about 20 sites in Northern Ireland in the early part of this decade is now underway. The repatriation process follows a 2007 Roadmap agreement between the two jurisdictions and a further framework agreement in June 2009 which agreed measures for dealing with sites containing waste from the Republic. The waste is being removed using powers contained in Article 24 of the EC Regulation on Shipments of Waste.

Removal of waste from the first site at Slattinagh, Garrison, County Fermanagh has started. It is estimated to contain around 4,500 tonnes of household-type waste from Cork and Wexford. When the waste at Slattinagh is removed, officials will then begin work on the second site, which is located near Trillick, County Tyrone and contains around 10,000 tonnes of waste.

The estimated timescale for the removal of the waste from the first site is three to four weeks. Following this, attention will turn to the second site. Under the agreement the costs of disposing of the waste will be met by the Irish Government together with 80% of the costs of removing the waste from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland will contribute 20% of the costs of excavation, examination and removal of the waste and the remediation of the site.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Republic has formally approved the disposal of approximately 5,000 tonnes of waste at Ballynacarrick Landfill, County Donegal. Waste will be transferred Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 4.30pm in covered and sealed haulage vehicles (30 tonne capacity) – eight vehicles in all will be used.

€34 Million Bill For Ireland

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) estimates that up to 250,000 tonnes of municipal and commercial waste from Ireland was illegally deposited at 20 sites in Northern Ireland between October 2002 and the end of 2004. An initial estimate of costs for the first two sites is in the region of Eur2m for Ireland. On this basis, the full cost of repatriation for Ireland would about Eur34.5m.

“We are dealing with the legacy from ten years ago, when illegal disposal of waste from the Republic was taking place on a large scale. It involved serious criminality with absolutely no regard to the impact on the environment, local communities or our economy,” says Northern Ireland Environment Minister Edwin Poots. “This operation will repatriate around 250,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste. To put the scale of this operation in context Belfast, our largest District Council, produces less than 160,000 tonnes in one year.”

“What we are now doing is facing up to our responsibilities as a State to bring the waste back for proper disposal,” comments Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley TD. “I welcome the beginning of the process of repatriation, which reflects a lot of hard work by the administrations on both sides of the border to deal comprehensively with this issue. It shows that cross border cooperation between the relevant agencies in both jurisdictions is essential to the protection of our environment, and the pursuit of environmental crime.”

A file has been submitted by the EPA to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and is currently being considered. Further evidence gathered during the excavation will be utilised, where possible, to bring other cases to the DPP.

Waste Enforcement Efforts

Waste enforcement efforts in Ireland have been stepped up significantly in recent years since the establishment of the Office of Environment Enforcement in October 2003. The OEE leads an Enforcement Network which coordinates enforcement in Ireland and over Eur7.4m is being provided to local authorities around the country to support continuing waste enforcement with some 120 waste enforcement officers on the ground. With the consolidation of the administration of Transfrontier Shipments of Waste to the National TFS Office (Dublin City Council) more targeted enforcement efforts in conjunction with NIEA have lead to a major reduction in illegal activity.

In Northern Ireland the NIEA is actively targeting those involved in illegal dumping via a dedicated Environmental Crime Team. Of the prosecutions taken to date, over 70 cases have involved waste from Ireland. This has resulted in a number of fines and, in four cases, prison sentences being imposed on landowners allowing Irish waste to be dumped on their land. Others cases are still ongoing.