Laois receives strong results for environmental enforcement by Council

Laois County Council has received strong results in a new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which looked at how well local authorities are performing on environmental enforcement. 

The EPA assessment of enforcement by the 31 local authorities in 2023 found that, on average, in Laois a "Strong or Excellent" score was achieved for 75% of the priorities set. This is above the national average of 70%.

Laois County Council were said to be excellent in water quality monitoring and ensuring that only approved solid fuel products are available for purchase by homeowners to protect public health from harmful air pollutants.

The Agency has however called on Laois County Council to put a greater focus on a number of areas including tackling noise pollution from transport and greater enforcement to minimise, reduce or prevent air and noise emissions.

Improvements are needed around household and commercial waste in order to maximise segregation and recycling of municipal waste. The EPA said Councils must target areas with low use of the household and commercial waste segregation service (3-bin system) to maximise waste recovery.

The Council was also asked to make improvements in relation to the impact of licensed discharges on water quality by ensuring compliance with discharge licence conditions. 

A greater focus is also needed on Producer Responsibility Initiatives (PRI) - The objective is that all operators register with  appropriate organisations and achieve good regulatory compliance at all waste facilities, including those owned by local authorities. 

The Council received an excellent grade in four areas of inspection, strong in 11 areas, and moderate in five which is down from seven in 2022. 

The EPA said: "Laois County Council is commended for achieving the required standard in 15 National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs). Greater focus is required in the priority areas where Moderate results were recorded."

Commenting on the findings of the report, Dr Tom Ryan, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “The effective enforcement of environmental law is essential to identify polluters and non-compliant operators, and to hold them to account. Local authority leadership is critical in delivering better environmental outcomes through the prioritisation of environmental enforcement and the appropriate allocation of resources.”