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Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2023

This report sets out the results of the EPA’s assessment of local authority environmental enforcement performance for 2023. This assessment is based on the EPA’s Local Authority Performance Framework where performance is measured and reported against National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs) focused on improving environmental compliance and achieving positive outcomes for waste, water, air and noise.

New EPA Climate Opinion Maps

Wave 2 of the Climate Change in the Irish Mind study, undertaken in 2023. Newly updated interactive maps of Ireland show national, regional, and county-level data about people’s climate change beliefs, attitudes, policy preferences and behaviours - see where your county stands on climate action.

Frequently Asked Questions

Popular FAQ's

In simple terms, each site is given a score based on its licence compliance in the previous six months. The system has four key scoring components: Compliance Investigations, Complaints, Incidents and Non-Compliances. These are described in more detail below. The higher the score the poorer the compliance is at a site.

Compliance Investigations

A Compliance Investigation (CI) is opened by the EPA when there is an issue on a site that is causing, or has the potential to cause an environmental impact and which requires action by the licensee. The EPA monitors progress to ensure that the actions required are completed.

Compliance Investigations are categorised as High, Medium, or Low based on the risk to the environment. Points are assigned based on the category of the CI and whether it is ‘Open’ or ‘Closed’.

Compliance Investigations Score Allocations
CI Rating*	Open	Closed
High	20 points	4 points
Medium	10 points	2 points
Low	3 points	1 point
Note: Only the top 3 highest scoring CIs are counted

* CIs can only be scored as medium/high for odour/noise if a non-compliant odour or noise related issue has been recorded by the OEE during the previous 12 weeks and/or if an action in the CI has not been addressed to the satisfaction of the Agency.

Complaints

The National Priority Sites system takes account of the number of complaints from the public which are linked to either a Medium or High compliance investigation.

Complaints Score Allocation
1 point per complaint*

* Complaints must be linked to a Medium or High CI to count towards the score; the maximum score for complaints is 20.

Incidents

Operators of licensed facilities are required to notify the EPA on any occasion where there is a breach of a licence condition. The EPA receives a large number of incidents each year and these are categorised as Minor, Limited, Serious, Very Serious or Catastrophic. The vast majority of incidents reported to the EPA are minor.

Points are assigned based on the category of the incident.

Incidents Score Allocation
Catastrophic	30 points
Very Serious	20 points
Serious	10 points
Limited	5 points
Minor	No score

Non Compliances

The EPA issues a notification of non-compliance (NC) to a facility when a licence condition is breached. Points are assigned based on the number of non-compliances recorded by the EPA. A greater weighting is applied if a non-compliance is issued for not notifying the EPA of an incident.

Non-Compliances Score allocation
Non-Compliance with licence	1 point
NC for non-notification of an incident	5 points

How far away should my well be from my septic tank?

Wells should be sited upgradient if possible and as far away as possible from wastewater treatment systems. The minimum recommended distance between a wastewater treatment system and well varies from 15m to 60m depending on the slope and soil type and is set out in the Code of Practice for new builds - Site suitability assessment.
What is the Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH)?

The EPA’s Air Quality Index for Health (AQIH) is a number from 1 to 10 that tells the public what the air quality currently is in their region, and whether this might affect the health of you or your child. A reading of 10 means the air quality is very poor and a reading of 1 to 3 inclusive means that the air quality is good. https://www.airquality.ie