More than 1,300 inspections relating to industrial and waste licences have been carried out across the country by the State's environmental watchdog, leading to fines of up to €500,000.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also indicated it has been busy targeting illegal, large-scale peat extraction. It said its legal actions had successfully halted illegal peat extraction on several sites last year, and that it issued legal notices to local authorities in Longford, Westmeath, Offaly, Kildare, Roscommon, Tipperary and Sligo in an effort to promote enforcement.

The EPA said the food and drink and waste sectors continued to dominate its priority action list, with the biggest problems being pollution of waterways and odour.

Killarney Waste Disposal Unlimited Company, in Kerry, was hit with fines of €500,000 last year for almost doubling the amount of waste it took in, at a six-figure profit.

In March, Aurivo Dairy Ingredients Ltd, in Roscommon, was fined €200,000 and ordered to pay an additional €150,000 to community groups and Inland Fisheries Ireland, following a series of charges relating to emissions into the River Lung. Fines of €29,500 and costs of €145,300 were awarded to the EPA from court cases in 2024.

The EPA's Dr. Tom Ryan said penalties were "an important endorsement" of the "polluter pays" principle, adding: "Companies that fail to respect licence conditions, cause nuisance to neighbours and put the environment at risk will be held to account by the EPA."

Three sites on the EPA's priority list for the first quarter of this year include Kingspan Building Products Limited in Cavan, concerning its chemical emissions to the air and its facility management.

Also listed were Timoleague Agri Gen Limited in Cork for its infrastructure and facility management, and Tipperary Co-Operative Creamery Limited for its discharges to water and infrastructure.

(Pic: Getty Images)