Protecting water supplies and adapting to climate change are among a number of goals identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In the EPA's strategy published today, entitled 2020 Vision: Protecting and Improving Ireland's Environment, it sets out a long-term vision for Ireland's environment as well as the actions the public body intends to undertake.
It advocates the promotion of sustainable use of resources, achieving major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and enforcing responsible environmental behaviour.
Speaking in Dublin this morning, Dr Mary Kelly, director general of the EPA, said the goals set out reflected the key issues for environmental protection in Ireland.
"An implementation plan with measurable outcomes has been developed alongside the strategy," said Dr Kelly.
She added that the EPA wanted to act as a "proactive environmental champion" by moving beyond simply identifying environmental issues and towards the resolution of such problems.
"The last strategy the EPA developed had identified enforcement as a key issue and led to the establishment of the Office of Environmental Enforcement within the EPA.
"The office has proved very successful in improving the level of enforcement of environmental legislation and will build on this success in the future," Dr Kelly said.
