Results 14,421-14,440 of 28,162 for speaker:Catherine Murphy

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Yes.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Would that cover the EPA's costs, that is, the €390,000?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: What involvement would the EPA have, for example, in unauthorised landfills or facilities? I am thinking of the one in Kerdiffstown that cost a fortune to remediate. Where does the EPA come in on something like that, or is that primarily a local authority function?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I thank Ms Burke. In her opening statement she talked about the national waste prevention programme. That is very good work and I do not want to be negative about it, so I just want to say that in advance of what I am going to say. It strikes me that our waste policy is daft, in that we have an incinerator in Ringsend, and all our licensed landfills are now in Leinster. The one in Galway...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: As the EPA tries to guide attitudes and policy in relation to good practice, would the EPA have an input into good practice? It is surely not good practice to have rubbish trucks driving all over the country. Surely the EPA would have a role there.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Does the EPA have any contingent liabilities?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: If that were the case, it would be the State Claims Agency that would deal with it. That would normally be the case.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I thank the Chairman. I want to deal with the large-scale industrial activities. We received a report some months ago when we had the Department in about Aughinish in Limerick, and I know the EPA is a totally independent agency, but it has a responsibility in relation to integration, pollution control, and licences. We were told in relation to that report that work was done in July 2014 on...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: The environmental damage is probably quantifiable whereas damage to human health is not quantifiable. Would this fall within the EPA's remit or, if there was a liability, would it be a HSE liability?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Is that issue closed from the EPA's point of view?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I will take up this matter elsewhere. Sometimes I come across an issue that has a real effect on me and this is one of them. When the EPA visits a facility that is licensed, is the visit notified or is it made on spec? It is a little like when the cigire scoile visits a school and everybody is dressed in their good clothes. What is the ratio of announced to unannounced visits?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: I will take Ms Burke's word that the majority of inspections are unannounced. What types of issues does the EPA identify as risks, for example, in a licensed facility? These are the facilities for which the EPA has responsibility and it is up to others to notify the EPA if something is not licensed or is an unauthorised development under planning law and so on. What would the EPA...

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: As this is the Committee of Public Accounts, we are primarily interested in financial risks. If, for example, a facility was licensed and the EPA had not captured a risk properly, would the EPA see that as a risk?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Obviously the EPA has a big function with regard to climate change and monitoring. The EPA can only monitor and advise and it is up to Government to determine policy. Ireland has been missing its climate targets. Does the EPA advise on the emissions trading scheme? What level of finance will this scheme require in future? What has the EPA learned from the monitoring it has done so far?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Has the EPA taken enforcement action?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: How many?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Are the fines punitive?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Does Ms Burke know how much the fines were?

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: By how much would emissions need to reduce to meet our targets? We know we will miss the targets.

Public Accounts Committee: Environmental Protection Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (18 Apr 2019)

Catherine Murphy: Obviously, the corporate culture of the companies being examined will be important in determining what kind of a bond will be required. There is a company in my area that one can be sure will do everything by the book. If there is a criticism, one hears it often goes over the top, which I much prefer. Let us consider circumstances where there is a changing environment. For example,...