Prosecutions fall despite rise in enforcement actions against environmental breaches in 2024
Local authorities are getting better at clamping down on people and companies who breach environmental laws, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).The environment watchdog says local authorities improved their environmental enforcement performance by 20% over the past three years, with 79% of the National Enforcement Priority (NEP) assessments meeting the required standard in 2024.But while enforcement actions — which include environmental orders, civil penalties, and criminal prosecutions — increased more than 6% from 17,000 in 2023 to 18,050 in 2024, the proportion of those that ended up in a prosecution last year fell by just under 12%.This is despite complaints rising more than 9% in 2024 compared to 2023, and despite councils deploying 15% more staff and carrying out more than 7% more inspections.According to its review of last year, the EPA said 630 council staff across 31 local authorities conducted 227,400 environmental inspections, regulated 10,700 licences, permits and certificates, and responded to 76,500 complaints.They also carried out 18,050 enforcement actions and initiated 414 prosecutions.Six local authorities achieved high performance scores in 2024, including Cork City Council. The five lowest performing local authorities were Leitrim, Galway City, Sligo, Clare and Donegal.
The EPA said local authorities must “prioritise and allocate appropriate resources” to deliver national enforcement priorities, which aim to improve air and water quality, promote increased recycling and re-use of waste and reduce people’s exposure to transport noise.The report highlights improvements in areas such as tackling illegal waste activities and the enforcement of construction and demolition waste. However, it also points to the need for increased focus on water, air and noise enforcement.The EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement director, Dr Tom Ryan, said: “Strong enforcement of environmental laws is essential to detect pollution and ensure that those who break the rules are held responsible.“Local authorities play a vital role in safeguarding our environment — especially when enforcement is prioritised and supported with the right resources. This report shows that most local authorities are responding to the challenge, but some are lagging behind and need to do better."
