Thurles Information

The EPA has a supervisory role over local authorities and assesses their environmental inspection and enforcement performance under the EPA’s Local Authority Performance Framework.
There are 19 National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) which focus on delivering positive environmental outcomes for air quality, water quality, waste management and environmental noise.

Local Authorities’ environmental performance is improving but continued commitment needed to deliver on National Enforcement Priorities.

Local authorities improved their environmental enforcement performance by 20% over the past three years, with 79% of the National Enforcement Priority (NEP) assessments meeting the required standard in 2024.

In 2024, 630 staff across 31 local authorities:

• Conducted 227,400 environmental inspections,
• Regulated 10,700 licences, permits and certificates,
• Responded to 76,500 complaints,
• Carried out 18,050 enforcement actions.
• Initiated 414 prosecutions.
• Six local authorities achieved high performance scores in 2024 namely Meath, Dublin City, South Dublin, Kildare, Fingal and Cork City Councils. The five lowest performing local authorities were Leitrim, Galway City, Sligo, Clare and Donegal.
• Local authorities must prioritise and allocate appropriate resources to deliver the National Enforcement Priorities, which aim to improve air and water quality, promote increased recycling and re-use of waste and reduce people’s exposure to transport noise.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published its report on the environmental enforcement performance of local authorities in 2024. The report shows that the scale of environmental enforcement work carried out by local authorities in 2024 was extensive.

Across the 31 local authorities, 630 staff:

• conducted 227,400 environmental inspections,
• regulated 10,700 licences, permits and certificates,
• responded to 76,500 complaints,
• carried out 18,050 enforcement actions and
• initiated 414 prosecutions.

The report found that local authorities have made strong progress in enforcing environmental regulations over the past three years. The report highlights improvements in areas such as tackling illegal waste activities and the enforcement of construction and demolition waste. However, it also points to the need for increased focus on water, air and noise enforcement to fully deliver on the National Enforcement Priorities. The findings underscore both the achievements to date and the ongoing challenges in delivering consistent and effective enforcement action across the country.

The EPA’s performance review found that:

• Six local authorities achieved high performance scores in 2024. These were Meath, Dublin City, South Dublin, Kildare, Fingal and Cork City Councils.
• Three further local authorities consistently achieved good performance scores over the past three years: Monaghan, Carlow and Cork County Councils.
• The five lowest performing local authorities were Leitrim, Galway City, Sligo, Clare and Donegal.

Commenting on the findings of the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “Strong enforcement of environmental laws is essential to detect pollution and ensure that those who break the rules are held responsible. Local authorities play a vital role in safeguarding our environment — especially when enforcement is prioritised and supported with the right resources. This report shows that most local authorities are responding to the challenge, but some such as Leitrim, Galway City, Sligo, Clare and Donegal are lagging behind and need to do better. Keeping up momentum is crucial to fully deliver on the National Enforcement Priorities and to protect our environment.”
Dr. Mick Henry, Senior Inspector in the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “Local authorities are making solid progress in waste enforcement, especially in tackling illegal activities and managing construction and demolition waste. However, enforcement in water, air and noise is showing slower progress. Agricultural run-off, trade effluent, solid fuel burning and traffic noise continue to harm the environment and public health. We are urging local authorities to strengthen their efforts in these areas to ensure a cleaner, healthier environment for all.”

Agriculture continues to have a significant impact on water quality, resulting in excess levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment entering our waterways. Local authorities must carry out more farm inspections and follow-up enforcement to reach the National Agricultural Inspection Programme annual target of 4,500 farms, to drive compliance with the Good Agricultural Practice regulations and reduce the impact on water quality.
Local authorities must also prioritise the inspection and enforcement of Section 4 Discharge Licences (trade effluent), particularly those that are a significant pressure on receiving water quality.

The Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2024 is available on the EPA website.