The enforcement work of EPA inspectors includes both field and desk-based tasks. The work that we do on licensed, permitted or authorised sites includes: 

  • Inspections at licensed sites 
  • Audits at drinking water or waste water plants 
  • Monitoring emissions 
  • Investigating complaints, incidents and reports of suspicious activity 
  • Assessment of activities that may need a licence 

Much of our work is done at our desks, including: 

  • Assessing the results of emissions monitoring carried out at licensed facilities to determine the impact, if any, of emissions on the environment 
  • Writing up reports of site visits 
  • Identifying non-compliances with licence conditions and specifying corrective actions to the licence holder 
  • Assessing requests for approval from licence holders for new processes, work practices and infrastructure, to ensure that they meet the requirements of Irish and EU legislation 
  • Checking for new submissions from licensed sites on our EDEN portal (and we follow up with the site’s environmental contact if we need further information) 
  • Encouraging individuals and businesses to integrate good environmental practices into normal working methods 
  • Ensuring that licence holders develop and operate under Environmental Management Systems (EMS) to prevent environmental pollution before it has a chance to occur (an EMS also helps operators to reduce environmental impacts and increase their operating efficiency) 
  • Responding to incidents and emergencies at licensed facilities as they occur to assist in minimising any environmental impacts 
  • Responding to complaints from members of the public about licenced facilities: 
    • We ensure that the operators take action to address complaints and to minimise any impact associated with their facilities
    • We also ensure that operators communicate their actions to complainants, either directly or through an inspector
  • Providing reports of our activities to the Board of the EPA  
  • Contributing to EPA responses to queries from public representatives, media organisations and members of the public