Dairies and other farming-related industries continue to be the biggest challenge for environmental regulators, the latest inspection data shows.
Two large pig farms, three creameries and two biogas facilities were among the top 10 sites in the country with the poorest records for complaints and non-compliance with their operating licences last year. The other three were two waste-management facilities and a textile manufacturing plant.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said pollution of waterways and bad smells were the main reasons they ended up on the “national priority sites” list, which shows which facilities enforcement teams are targeting for action.
Nine of the 10 have either had prosecutions taken against them or have legal proceedings pending.
A case against Aurivo Dairy Ingredients in Donegal was concluded last month when the company was convicted in court of 10 offences relating to discharges to waterways, smells and failure to report environmental incidents from June to August 2022. It was fined €350,000.
Companies that fail to respect their licence conditions, cause nuisance to neighbours and put the environment at risk will be held to account
Last November, Killarney Waste Disposal was convicted and fined €500,000 after being found guilty of accepting volumes of waste that were often twice its annual licensed limit over a number of years following an investigation that ran for a decade.
Both companies and others from the 2024 priority list have now been taken in hand, but two remain on the revised list for 2025: Tipperary Co-operative Creamery and Timoleague Agri Gen.
They have been joined by Kingspan Building Products Ltd in Co Cavan.
Dairy and waste industries tend to dominate the national priority lists, with some companies featuring repeatedly for years.
Dr Tom Ryan, director of the EPA’s office of environmental enforcement, said that if they take action when pulled up on breaches, they can be “good neighbours” to their local communities.
However, he said: “Companies that fail to respect their licence conditions, cause nuisance to neighbours and put the environment at risk will be held to account.”
The EPA has 905 manufacturing, processing and waste-management sites under its watch.
Its enforcement report for last year shows its staff carried out over 1,300 site inspections at 634 of them.
We gain a true picture of real-time compliance challenges at each site, prompting licensees to remain focused on compliance every day
“Because 96pc of our inspections are unannounced, we gain a true picture of real-time compliance challenges at each site, prompting licensees to remain focused on compliance every day,” enforcement manager Pamela McDonnell said.
Just under half the inspections were routine, while the rest were in response to complaints.
A total of 809 complaints were logged, down from 1,490 logged in 2021 – a high figure attributed to more people being home due to Covid-19 restrictions and more likely to notice nuisance behaviours by nearby plants.
Ms McDonnell said reports from the public were welcome.
“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,” she said.
The EPA also began a crackdown on illegal peat extraction sites last year. It is to publish a separate report on its enforcement activities in this sector in the coming weeks.
