Ireland’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has published its Industrial and Waste Licence Enforcement Summary 2024. The report details EPA enforcement activities across industrial and waste sites that hold an EPA licence and highlights key compliance trends in 2024.
Out of the 905 EPA-licensed sites, 10 were identified as National Priority Sites in 2024. Poor operational management and a lack of investment in infrastructure underpinned the main compliance failures at these priority sites.
The 2024 National Priority list was dominated by waste and food and drink facilities, with odour emissions and increased risks to rivers and groundwater being common compliance themes.
Commenting on the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement said:
“Recent convictions in the Courts of two sites on the EPA’s priority list, Killarney Waste Disposal Unlimited Company in 2024 and Aurivo Dairy Ingredients Ltd in 2025, attracted fines and penalties of €500,000 and €350,000 respectively. These convictions and the substantial fines imposed are an important endorsement of the “polluter pays” principle in this jurisdiction.
“However, with the appropriate management commitment to environmental protection and to sufficient investment in infrastructure, particularly in the treatment of wastewater, all of these sites can comply with statutory requirements and be good neighbours to local communities. Companies that fail to respect their licence conditions, cause nuisance to neighbours and put the environment at risk will be held to account by EPA.”
Speaking to the range of enforcement activities carried out by the EPA, Pamela Mc Donnell, Programme Manager, EPA Office of Environmental Enforcement said:
“Inspections are a vital enforcement tool that help us to identify and target those that are failing to comply. We completed 1,300 inspections to industrial and waste sites in 2024 and because 96% of our inspections are unannounced, we gain a true picture of real-time compliance challenges at each site, prompting licensees to remain focussed on compliance every day.
“Legal action also sends a clear message: that non-compliance has serious consequences. 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. The EPA will continue to escalate its enforcement activities at those sites with the poorest compliance records.”
