John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Seanad Éireann:- commends the policy as set out in the Programme for Government for environmental protection, environmental controls and regulation, with particular reference to encouraging the use of recycling, resource efficiencies and to establishing a rigorous enforcement regime;
- commends the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for his commitment to the highest international standards and to the use of the Best Available Technologies (BAT) in implementing this Government policy;
- commends the Minister for working to ensure that Government policies from all Departments are environmentally proofed and always take into account environmental impact and impact upon public health;
- commends the Minister for the particular efforts he has made at all times to mainstream Green/Environmental policies and legislation and, in particular, to advance the Climate Change Bill which seeks to tackle such issues as emission reductions, as outlined in the Programme for Government;
- proposes that the Minister would update Seanad Éireann on his work in the area of environmental protection generally; and, in particular, on the progress of his Department's review into the respective regulatory and enforcement roles of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established early in 2013, which seeks to examine current enforcement structures, to identify existing strengths and weaknesses and to make general recommendations; and
- proposes further that the Minister would update Seanad Éireann on the current level of political and public oversight, accountability and transparency in relation to the role, work and functioning of the EPA, and to its commitment to "protect and improve the natural environment for present and future generations.".

I am pleased to present the motion with the permission and co-operation of my colleagues. In particular I thank my colleagues in the Seanad and those from the Independent Taoiseach's nominees group who have facilitated the early taking of the motion. I was keen for the matter to be dealt with prior to the Houses rising for the summer recess. I am grateful and pleased to see the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, taking the motion. I commend the Minister, in the spirit of the motion, as set out, on his tremendous work, much of which has yet to be fully appreciated. However, I believe it will be in the fullness of time. I was pleased three years ago when the Minister, Deputy Hogan, indicated his intention not to marginalise the green issue or the environmental issue, but to mainstream, embed and embody them in Government legislation and policy. I believe he has achieved that to a great extent.
I am not in any way being frivolous and I say it with affection as the Minister knows. I wish him well in his future endeavours, whatever they may be and wherever they take him. He is affectionately known around the Houses as "big Phil". I hope he performs better and succeeds better than big Phil did last night in the World Cup. Whatever the future holds for him this week I hope it does not come to a penalty shootout or any other kind of shootout as he pursues his ambitions and endeavours. Wherever they take him I am sure he will represent the people of the country well in whatever fashion that arises.
We have come a long way from the time that the country was an embarrassment in the sense of the number of plastic bags strewn up and down our highways and in our hedgerows. Much of this comes from a change of public perception and opinion. However, many things were left kicking around during the past 20 years. These were hot potatoes that no one wanted to touch or look at. However, the Minister, Deputy Hogan, addressed them. I commend the Minister on his work in the area of the registration of septic tanks. There are 440,000 septic tanks in the country. The Minister has taken a similar and correct approach to tackle climate change and the environmental issue. It should be done at a local level, one building block at a time. In future, the Minister will be recognised as a visionary and pioneering Minister in respect of the final establishment of an Irish water authority. There has been considerable debate about it. No one wants an extra bill in the door, especially in times of recession but, ultimately, this will prove to have been a good idea to ensure that the citizens of the State enjoy a safe, clean and secure supply of water in future. I commend the Minister, Deputy Hogan, on his efforts in this area.
This approach also fits the bill in terms of the reform agenda of the Government. Instead of having multiple agencies doing the same work we rationalise and, where possible and appropriate, we reduce the number of quangos which are not accountable to the Government, the citizens or the State. We should put those powers back into agencies that are accountable to the Government of the day, with proper oversight, transparency and accountability.
However, there is one significant fly in the ointment and it is in the area of the Environmental Protection Agency. When reports were brought to me initially in respect of its operation, function, oversight, inspection and enforcement, I greeted them with disbelief. It did not believe it was possible in this day and age for this to happen. I took the view that this could not be happening and that it would be an appalling vista that the watchdog, which the State and Government established to protect the public interest, public health and the environment, would not do its job in the most thorough, effective and efficient manner and in policing the environment and public health for us. I would have thought it was not possible. However, I am distressed and concerned that this is, unfortunately, the case. I do not believe the EPA as it functions is fit for purpose. It is not doing its job. It is not living up to the remit that the Minister and the Government have charged it with, that is, to protect public health and the environment from pollution.
I am not referring to an accident or one-off incident or something no one could have foreseen. I am referring to systemic and systematic failures. I am not just talking about local issues. This is the case throughout the country. I have been inundated with representations from members of the community and the public who all have the same sorry tale to tell. They all maintain they are living in misery because the EPA will not come to their assistance, believe them or help them. They believe the agency categorises them and routinely dismisses them as cranks and people who do not know and are not aware of what is going on.
Nowhere is this more shockingly manifest than in my home-town of Portlaoise. I raised this matter previously in April and I was hopeful that at that stage when we put it on the public record the EPA would be stung into action. On the contrary, unfortunately, the agency is still in denial. I say as much with reluctance and with full consideration of the seriousness of the charges I am making. There is nothing I would say in the House that I am unwilling to repeat outside the House. While I am no scientist, environmental scientist, chemist or physicist I know people who are damned good ones and the data are staring us in the face.

The evidence is staring the EPA in the face. It is aware of high levels of concentration of unlicensed, unregulated emissions from the industrial oil recycling plant in Portlaoise, Enva Ireland Limited, which is owned by a wealthy and profitable publicly quoted company, DCC. This is not a small time operation but a huge plant which operates on an international level. I am sorry to say it is emitting harmful toxins such as benzene, toluene and volatile organic compounds into the atmosphere on an weekly basis. This is not acceptable in this day and age. We have at our disposal best available technology and systems that could prevent this from happening and could stop it in the morning if there was a willingness by the EPA to enforce and implement the standards and by the company to invest in this technology and these standards. The company is on record as saying to the EPA that it is not willing to spend the money as public health is not worth the investment.

We have suffered in this country due to poor regulation, light touch regulation and lax regulation. By turning a blind eye, we know what happened in the area of child protection, in the area of financial services and the banking sector and in the charities sector. Will it take another tribunal, another "Prime Time Investigates", to expose the ineptitude of the EPA before we are stung into action? As public representatives we cannot turn a blind eye when information is brought to our attention. It is our duty and responsibility to protect public health and the public interest. Having appointed a watchdog, we thought we could sleep easy in our beds and that it would do its job, but we now have to second-guess whether it is doing its job.

I ask the Minister to take on board our concerns and representations. I know the Minister is a good and honourable man and will not allow this to continue. While the EPA has been established as an independent body, that does not mean it is not answerable to anybody or that it is not accountable. It must be held to account. I ask that we investigate what is happening in Portlaoise and the conduct of the EPA because it is no longer acceptable.