The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said that the Irish agri-food sector needs to improve its environmental compliance, according to RTÉ.
The Irish national broadcaster reported that the agri-food sector dominated the EPA’s list of National Priority Site for Enforcement, according to its latest report.
The 2017 Industrial and Waste Licence Enforcement Report details the levels of environmental compliance and enforcement activities across 800 facilities currently licensed by the EPA.
It revealed that the agri-food sector dominated the EPA's list of priorities last year.
Better Efforts Needed
It found that more than 1,500 site inspections were carried out, with 91% of them being unannounced. It added that six sites were inspected more than 20 times, and two sites, in particular, received 49 visits by EPA staff.
More than 1,000 complaints were received about facilities, with noise and odour being the most common reasons, however, odour complaints have reduced significantly compared to the previous year.
22 prosecutions were concluded last year, and over €374,000 in fines and costs were given out by the group.
"The EPA targets its enforcement efforts at the most non-compliant facilities,” said Gerard O'Leary, EPA director of the Office of Environmental Enforcement.
"Companies have come off the list in the past year by improving operational practices or making significant investment in infrastructure.
"Sites in the agri-food sector have dominated the list (11 of 19 sites) and compliance in this sector needs to improve."
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
