Ms Mary Gurrie:

Regarding the roads, that is a matter for planning. The EPA licence only covers the site, not the surrounding roads.

In terms of the hierarchy, as the Deputy said, the planning consent process is completely separate from the waste regulation process. There are two tiers, namely, the waste facility permits which are issued and enforced by the local authority and, for specified activities, an EPA licence is required. The responsibility for enforcement for a waste permit sits with the local authority but considerable work is being done on improving local authority enforcement and regional waste enforcement lead authorities have been set up. Dublin City Council would be the relevant one to deal with the east midlands. The EPA chairs the NIECE network, which is the network for the enforcement of all environmental regulators. There is support and assistance available to try to improve it. The EPA has a role in the oversight of the statutory performance of local authorities. If somebody felt that a local authority was not conducting its statutory duties to enforce a licence, they could make a complaint to the EPA and we would follow up to check if the local authority has taken the necessary action to examine the matter. There is considerable work involved in terms of co-operation and statutory oversight.