Please see most recent reply from Environmental Protection Agency regarding River Suir in Thurles.
Environmental Protection Agency Reply Dated Wednesday October 21st at 12:51pm.
Environmental Complaint Ref: COMO21813.
Dear Mr Willoughby,
Firstly, we would like to apologise for the delay in our response. This was due to unforeseen staff absences within the team.
Further to previous correspondence and responding to your concerns, the EPA requested a further update from Tipperary County Council on actions taken or planned on this matter.
Tipperary County Council replied to the EPA on 15/09/2026 & 17/09/2026.
Tipperary County Council advised that it has investigated the issues raised, including reported misconnection concerns, and undertaken follow-up investigations at nearby premises, with further investigations ongoing. Litter concerns were referred to the relevant Municipal District, and a river clean-up was scheduled. The Council also advised that it continues to undertake water quality protection measures and environmental complaint investigations as part of its statutory functions. Additional measures, including misconnection surveys and litter management actions, are proposed through the Upper River Suir Catchment Management Plan to address water quality pressures within the catchment, with appropriate action to be considered where evidence of pollution or unauthorised discharges is identified.
The EPA is satisfied that the Council is dealing with the issues raised in your complaint and in view of this, the EPA will not be pursuing it further at this time.
If you require further details and/or if you wish to report any further issues, the EPA recommends that you contact the Council directly, as the responsible authority.
The Council can be contacted at customerservices@tipperarycoco.ie or by phone on 0818 065000.
This file may be re-examined and reopened if new information is brought to the attention of the EPA indicating that the issue has not been dealt with in an appropriate manner by the Council.
Please use the reference number above in any further correspondence with the EPA regarding this matter.
Kind regards,
Shelly Laffan (Complaints Unit | Office of Environmental Enforcement).
Please see hereunder my reply:-
Dear Ms Laffan,
I acknowledge receipt of your correspondence advising that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is satisfied with Tipperary County Council’s handling of my environmental complaint and that the EPA does not intend to pursue the matter further.
I wish to formally record my complete dissatisfaction with this decision, which I consider premature, unjustified and wholly unsatisfactory in light of the Council’s continued failure, over the past 13 years, to adequately address the matters raised.
Your response appears to rely almost exclusively on information and assurances supplied by Tipperary County Council in its correspondence dated 15th and 17th September 2026. However, there is a fundamental distinction between a local authority stating that investigations have been undertaken or actions are proposed and providing verifiable evidence that meaningful investigations, enforcement measures and corrective actions have actually occurred.
The EPA’s correspondence provides no substantive evidence that the environmental concerns originally reported have been satisfactorily addressed.
Continued Inaction and Failure to Correspond.
Of particular concern is the continuing refusal or failure of Tipperary County Council officials to engage in meaningful correspondence regarding these complaints or provide satisfactory evidence of the measures allegedly undertaken.
Despite the Council’s assurances to the EPA, the situation remains unresolved, and I am once again forwarding evidence demonstrating the continuing problems and apparent lack of effective action.
It is particularly concerning that the Council appears willing to provide assurances to the EPA, while failing to engage directly and constructively with the individual who reported the environmental issues.
I respectfully submit that such conduct raises serious questions regarding transparency, accountability and the adequacy of the Council’s complaint-handling and environmental enforcement procedures.
Reliance on Assurances Rather Than Demonstrable Action.
Your correspondence refers to investigations, follow-up inspections, proposed misconnection surveys, litter management measures and actions contemplated under the Upper River Suir Catchment Management Plan.
However, it fails to establish:
- What specific investigations have actually been completed and on what dates.
- Whether the reported misconnections have been conclusively investigated and identified or ruled out.
- Whether any unauthorised discharges or sources of pollution have been identified.
- What enforcement or corrective measures, if any, have been undertaken.
- Whether the proposed river clean-up actually took place and what was achieved.
- What concrete measures have been implemented to prevent recurrence.
- What timescales apply to the outstanding investigations and proposed actions.
The only work undertaken in the past 13 years on the river Suir at Thurles, has has been the removal, by Tipperary County Council, of a fountain which aerated the river water, and limited rubbish removal by local unpaid volunteers.
The existence of proposed measures within a catchment management plan does not, in itself, constitute evidence that the specific environmental complaints have been adequately investigated or resolved.
The EPA’s Statutory Oversight Responsibilities
I would respectfully draw your attention to the EPA’s oversight responsibilities under Section 63 of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992, as amended.
I acknowledge that Tipperary County Council is the primary authority responsible for investigating many local environmental complaints. However, the EPA also has a statutory role in overseeing the performance of local authorities in carrying out their environmental protection functions.
Indeed, the EPA’s own published guidance specifically provides for complaints concerning the performance of local authorities where environmental problems have not been adequately investigated or addressed. That is precisely the difficulty arising in this case.
Referring me back to the same Council officials whose actions, inaction and lack of meaningful engagement form a central part of my complaint does not provide a satisfactory resolution.
Request for Reconsideration and Independent Scrutiny
In light of the above, I formally request that the EPA:
- Reopen and reassess this complaint, taking full account of the further evidence of continuing environmental concerns and Council inaction now being submitted.
- Provide a clear explanation of the factual and evidential basis upon which the EPA concluded that Tipperary County Council has adequately discharged its environmental responsibilities.
- Confirm whether the EPA independently examined any inspection reports, investigation findings, water quality monitoring results, misconnection survey records or other documentary evidence before deciding to close the file.
- Identify what specific actions the Council has confirmed as completed, as distinct from investigations described as ongoing or measures merely proposed for the future.
- Examine the Council’s continued failure or refusal to correspond meaningfully with me and consider whether this is consistent with appropriate environmental complaint-handling procedures.
- Consider whether further oversight or intervention under Section 63 is warranted, having regard to the apparent continuing failure to resolve the issues raised.
- Confirm what further action the EPA proposes to take should the additional evidence demonstrate that the Council’s assurances do not accurately reflect the situation on the ground.
Accountability and the Public Interest
Environmental protection cannot be reduced to an exchange of correspondence between public authorities, particularly where the matters complained of remain unresolved.
Members of the public who report suspected pollution, unauthorised discharges and environmental deterioration are entitled to expect that their concerns will be properly examined and that the responsible authorities will act appropriately on the evidence.
The EPA’s acceptance of general assurances from a local authority, without clearly demonstrating that the underlying environmental concerns have been effectively addressed, risks undermining public confidence in environmental regulation and enforcement.
I am not requesting that the EPA automatically assume responsibility for functions properly assigned to Tipperary County Council. Rather, I am requesting that the EPA exercise its oversight responsibilities and critically examine whether those functions have been adequately performed.
Formal Request for a Substantive Response
For the avoidance of doubt, I do not accept that this complaint has been satisfactorily resolved, nor do I consider that the information supplied to date provides an adequate basis for concluding that the Council is dealing effectively with the matters raised.
I am again submitting supporting evidence of the continuing issues and the Council’s apparent failure to take effective action.
I request written acknowledgement of this further submission and a substantive, point-by-point response addressing the matters outlined above.
If the EPA maintains its decision not to investigate further, I request a reasoned explanation identifying the evidence considered, the basis for that decision and the appropriate procedure for seeking a review or escalation of the matter.
I would appreciate a substantive response within 15 working days, or confirmation within that period of when such a response can be expected.
I must emphasise that simply referring this complaint back to Tipperary County Council, without addressing the evidence of its alleged continuing inaction, is neither an adequate nor an acceptable response to the concerns raised.
I trust that the EPA will reconsider its position and give this matter the independent scrutiny and attention it warrants.
Yours sincerely,
George Willoughby.
NOTE: This communication has now been sent to – Department / Secretary Generalcustomer.service@dcee.gov.ie and a carbon copy (CC) to Minister Darragh O’Brien darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie
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