John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

It does what it likes with immunity. Thanks to the Cathaoirleach I was able to table a question to the Minister on the Adjournment last Thursday and I was horrified to learn the EPA is accountable to no one. It is not answerable to the Minister or the Department and it is not accountable to the Oireachtas. It is a law unto itself and it is going about the country on tyre-kicking exercises passing off as verification and carrying out emissions tests which it announces in advance before its staff arrive. We need proper regulatory oversight and accountability for the Environmental Protection Agency. Otherwise we will wake up to another headache in this country in no uncertain terms and a disaster with serious consequences for pollution and public health.

The situation in the Enva plant in Portlaoise is worrying in the extreme and it will unravel and unfold further. Will the Leader please invite to the House the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, whom I believe wants to uphold the highest standards of accountability, verification and enforcement when it comes to environmental controls and the rigorous enforcement of standards? The Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, must come to the House so we can find a way to hold the EPA to account. It is not doing its job. It is asleep at the wheel and we will rue the day we ignore it.