Kildare County Council defends itself after EPA peat criticism

KILDARE County Council has hit back with a strong defence of its policies following an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report earlier last week (25 June) concerning “large-scale commercial peat extraction being carried on without any of the necessary authorisations from the local authorities”.

These illegal operations are contributing to an export trade of 300,000 tonnes of peat annually, valued at almost €40 million, and the EPA looked at 38 locations in seven different counties, including four areas in Kildare.

“Local authority enforcement performance in this area is patently inadequate,” said the EPA Report. “The EPA is directing local authorities to take appropriate enforcement actions against such operations within their jurisdiction.

“The EPA will continue to use its powers to ensure that local authorities fully implement and enforce the environmental requirements pertaining to large-scale commercial peat extraction”.

However, the depth of this criticism led to a prompt defence of its policies by the council.

“Kildare County Council acknowledges the EPA’s report on large-scale illegal peat extraction published on 25 June,” began the council spokesperson.

“Kildare County Council takes its planning enforcement and environmental protection duties very seriously and has a successful track record of pursuing enforcement action in numerous complex planning and environmental cases where clear evidence of unauthorised development and environmental damage has been established”.

The council has accepted that there may be some gaps in opportunity that are still being exploited, and the potential costs and pitfalls of policing this issue.

“The enforcement of planning legislation, particularly in relation to peat extraction activities, however, operates within an increasingly complex legal framework.

“Recent High Court and Court of Appeal judgments have highlighted the evolving nature of environmental law in this area, creating legal uncertainties for local authorities considering enforcement action.

“This brings with it significant risk for local authorities both legally and financially, and each and every enforcement action must be evaluated on its own merits with consideration made to the available evidence and the prospects of success through the courts.

“This analysis is undertaken on all planning enforcement and environment cases through each stage of the process.

“Planning and environment enforcement cases require the commitment of significant council resources over an extended period, including specialist staff time, legal representation, technical expertise, comprehensive site investigations and surveys, and ongoing legal expenses.

“The lengthy nature of complex enforcement files means that, in some instances, Council resources are committed to individual cases for many years on some occasions.

“(However) In spite of this complexity, Kildare County Council continues to heavily resource its planning enforcement.”