Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 423: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has been briefed by the Environmental Protection Agency regarding if a company (details supplied) has removed the 3,000 tonnes of waste it has been storing on a farm in County Kildare; and if the EPA has any information regarding the location of which the company has disposed of this waste. [27922/12]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Issues concerning the enforcement of waste management legislation are a matter for the appropriate regulatory authority and should therefore be pursued with the Environmental Protection Agency or the relevant local authority, as appropriate.

Under section 60(3) of the Waste Management Act 1996 the Minister is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by the Agency or a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory function vested in it.

I have made clear my commitment to support the work of the Agency and the local authorities in enforcing waste management legislation. I am providing funding to support the work of 120 waste enforcement officers in the local government sector and the work of the Office of Environmental Enforcement.

I am currently finalising a new waste policy and compliance and enforcement will be key components of that policy. Ireland cannot afford to tolerate any illegal waste activities and I expect the relevant authorities to have a robust regime of enforcement in place to deal with those who breach their obligations under the law.