The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has given consent to Teagasc to carry out field trials on a genetically modified (GM) potato line with improved resistance to late potato blight. In assessing the application the EPA has carried out extensive consultations with all appropriate state agencies and government departments including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland … Read more
The final report of the EPA-funded ‘Carbon Restore’ project shows that breathing new life into cut-away and degraded boglands would provide climate, biodiversity, water and economic benefits. UCD based Dr David Wilson led the ‘Carbon Restore’ project and it was carried out with the cooperation of Bord na Mona which own much of Ireland’s depleted … Read more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its first biannual update of its Biodiversity Action Plan. This Biodiversity Action Plan sets out the EPA’s progress in the implementation of its role in protecting biodiversity and covers a range of activities in the following areas: * Monitoring; * Research; * Assessment and Reporting; * Environmental Regulation; … Read more
Data submitted by the EPA to the EU Commission show that emissions of Greenhouse Gases in 2011 for companies in Ireland covered by the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are considerably lower than in 2010. The data for 2011 shows emissions have dropped sharply to 15.77 Mtonnes from 17.36 Mtonnes in 2010. The reduction is largely … Read more
There has been a marked improvement in environmental awareness in Ireland over the past decade reveals the ConsEnSus Lifestyle Survey just published today by NUI Galway and funded under the EPA’s STRIVE Research programme. The same survey reports that approximately one fifth of all survey respondents had changed their energy supplier to a renewable energy … Read more
Ireland’s packaging recovery and recycling rates continue to exceed EU packaging recycling targets, according to statistics contained in the latest EPA National Waste Report. The EU target for packaging recovery was 60% in 2011 with Ireland’s recovery rate of about 74% for 2010, placing it in the top six amongst other and longer established European … Read more
Ireland is well advanced in achieving most of the EU waste recovery and recycling targets, with the exception of end of life vehicle targets, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Waste Report 2010. The economic downturn is having a marked influence on municipal waste generation, which has decreased by 16 per cent since … Read more
The Government has published a plan for the implementation of the recommendations of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Review Group. The independent Review Group, established in February 2010 to review the scope, mandate, structure and performance of the EPA, presented its report in May 2011. This report contains 58 recommendations across a number of different … Read more
The EPA has published information on Ireland’s position in relation to meeting its 2010 obligations under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive (NEC Directive). The figures show the trends for four key air pollutants over the period 1990 to 2010. These pollutants are sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and ammonia (NH3) … Read more
The Environmental Protection Agency and the Science Gallery will hold an hour-long free public event this coming Thursday evening (January 12th) in the Science Gallery entitled Watertight: the Future of Irish Water. The event is free and is part of the Science Gallery’s very successful Surface Tension: The Future of Water exhibition which is supported … Read more