Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will seek the removal of a person (details supplied) from the Director General's Office of the Environmenal Protection Agency. [3705/13]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established by the Government in 1993 following the enactment of the Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992. The EPA was established as a non-commercial and independent state-sponsored body. A recent independent review of the EPA, available on my Department’s website, www.environ.ie , concluded that the EPA has the independence to arrive at informed and objective decisions and to undertake objective assessment and reporting on the state of the environment. This independence is one of its key strengths and is well provided for in existing legislation, including in relation to the enforcement of licences and consents in individual cases.

As highlighted in the 2011 Annual Report and Accounts of the Environmental Protection Agency and as stated publically elsewhere by the Agency, the EPA continues to fulfil its statutory obligations by following a broad enforcement strategy encompassing a range of activities. The Report can be found on the Agency’s website, , and sets out that in 2011 the Agency completed 169 audits and 658 inspections of waste and Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) licensed sites; issued 870 notifications of non-compliance; held 122 meetings with licensees to address non-compliance issues; and, ultimately, brought 22 successful prosecutions in the District Court during the year. These prosecutions resulted in costs and fines totalling over €130,000.

The Agency also continues to co-ordinate a national Environmental Enforcement Network. Participants of the Network include the EPA, all local authorities, government departments, An Garda Síochána, the National Bureau for Criminal Investigations, the Northern Ireland Environment and Heritage Service, the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Fisheries Boards, the Health Service Executive, the Revenue Commissioners, and the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Network harnesses the collective resources and expertise available nationally to co-ordinate a consistent and more effective approach to the enforcement of environmental legislation in Ireland.

The EPA Review also found that there is “widespread respect and regard for the Agency’s work, and its staff,” and that it provides “considerable benefit for Ireland’s environment, and for the health and well-being of its people.” I am confident that the EPA, and its Director General, will continue appropriately to discharge its mandate to safeguard and improve Ireland’s environment.