The Environment Protection Agency says addressing illegal dumping and unauthorised waste sites is a priority for them this year.
The EPA has a waste licencing remit and has responded to further queries from Ocean FM following the revelations in last night’s RTE Investigates programme.
It uncovered a large illegal dump in Moville, Co Donegal and also highlighted big differences in the approaches of local authorities to illegal dumping.
The EPA was one of the organisation that reportedly flagged the problem of an authorised waste site in north county Donegal over several years to the Local Authority in Donegal.
Ocean FM News has also requested a statement from the Council in Donegal following last night’s programme and is awaiting a response.
Responding to a number of queries by Ocean FM News today, The EPA says it takes its role in regulating the waste industry seriously and has applied considerable resources to deal it.
Ocean FM asked if there was a need to change the way waste regulation is enforced in Ireland.
While not providing a spokesperson or responding directly to each question, it said that ‘the current waste management policy in Ireland has identified the challenges and committed to improving the state’s capacity to deal with illegal waste.’
That resulted in three Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities (WERLAs) being set up in 2015.
They are responsible for coordinating Council waste enforcement actions in each region under the guidance of a National Steering Committee which sets out enforcement goals.
It says one of the goals for this year is addressing illegal dumping and unauthorised waste sites.
The EPA also says that people coming forward with complaints is a vital part of the Authorities being able to identify and stop illegal activity.
People can do so through the See It Say It App or by contacting your local Council.
