|
Mr. John Gormley TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage
and Local Government, has welcomed the publication of the
second EPA Focus on Environmental Enforcement in Ireland Report,
which covers the 3-year period 2006-2008.
The Minister acknowledged the work carried out by the EPA’s
Office of Environmental Enforcement to produce this valuable
source of information on the enforcement activities of all
local authorities and the EPA under the thematic headings
of waste, water, air and noise and large industry.
Commenting on the trends evident from the report
and the significant increase in environmental legislation
enacted in Ireland over the review period, the Minister welcomed
the fact that environmental regulators are using their regulatory
powers through increased inspections and enforcement actions.
“I wish to pay tribute to both the EPA and the Local Authorities
for their increased efforts in the area of enforcement. We
are seeing the fruits of these efforts in the increase in
prosecutions through the courts. There is nothing a like a
steep fine handed down by the courts to focus the minds
of environmental vandals," said Minister Gormley.
The Minister acknowledged that ensuring compliance with environmental
legislation remains a challenge in some areas and highlighted
the increased number of prosecutions in waste activities (over
700) in 2008 and notifications to the EPA of failure to meet
drinking water standards (544 in period 2007-2008) as evidence.
Minister Gormley noted that the OECD, in their recent Environmental
Performance Review of Ireland, had acknowledged the
increased resources the Government has made available to agencies
dealing with the environment and the significant investments
that have been made in environmentally related infrastructure.
Referring to the future enforcement challenges in the report
- particularly in the areas of waste and water management
- he restated the Government’s commitment to working towards
a clean and safe environment for all. “Safeguarding the environment
is a priority and, in this, responses are demanded from everyone”,
he said.
In light of the current economic contraction, the Minister
stressed that “economic recovery is intrinsically linked to
protection of the environment. A clean and healthy environment
is the basis for a strong economy into the future.
“I am absolutely committed to continuing the high level of
investment in water services infrastructure, which I have
secured in recent years. This continued investment will, in
itself, reduce the need for future prosecutions in this area,”
added the Minister
Minister Gormley welcomed the level of inter-agency cooperation
in environmental enforcement and stressed the important role
of the Environmental Enforcement Network of State Agencies
in ensuring that a higher and more consistent standard of
enforcement of environmental legislation is achieved throughout
the country. He also stressed the important role that the
Office of Environmental Enforcement has played in the protection
of the environment since its establishment in 2003.
The Minister emphasised that sound policy making and implementation
requires robust analysis. He congratulated the EPA’s Office
of Environmental Enforcement for the compilation of the report,
which represents another link in the chain of information
resources that the EPA provides including the Indicator and
State of the Environment Reports.
“These resources continue to make a major contribution in
guiding environmental policy making and implementation” -
he added.
|
