The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established some years ago against a backdrop of the growing clamour to put right what was going wrong with our environment.
It may be recalled that Cork County Council had not exactly inspired confidence - particularly in the Cork Harbour area - where industry seemed to have a way of losing friends and making enemies. But it must be said that there have been major improvements - standards have risen - and while vigilance is still necessary, to a large degree, public confidence has been restored.
To put it mildly, things were a little bit haphazard. Our preoccupation in the Republic seemed to be to attract jobs at all costs. First, we allowed our local authorities - then the licensing agencies - to adopt a role in attracting industry to our shores. What message was that giving to industry when the planning authority was also out wining and dining the potential applicant?
That is behind us now, and the EPA, which has had its detractors, has a more transparent and reassuring approach. It has adopted a policy of openness. Before, the local authorities behaved almost as secret societies. That is not an exaggerated claim, as anyone who has worked the local government beat will know.
Mr Iain MacLean, a chief environmental officer with Cork County Council, was head-hunted to be one of the EPA's directors. His mission, under the new regime, is to get the information to the public. Today, the county council is more an open book than a closed ledger, as it once was. But what's the difference when we are still writing about seasonal fish kills and the continuing pollution of our waterways? There is a difference, though.
Since the EPA was established, all companies are required to prepare management systems, addressing training, maintenance of equipment, environmental issues, etc. There are on-going targets and assessments to ensure that where improvements can be made they will be. There are odour and noise audits; on-site risks have to be evaluated and emergency responses formulated.
Even after the granting of a licence, there are continuing reviews, and ultimately, if the EPA is unhappy with the performance of a company, there are legal sanctions open to it. Cork Harbour was once the most mistrusted industrial zone in the State, but that was prior to the arrival of the EPA. Nowadays, the improvements are palpable and industry, by and large, is performing satisfactorily.
There is another fundamental difference between the modern era and the bad old days. The public now has a right to see documentation regarding the operation of any particular company. If there are glitches from time to time, with some environmental organisations claiming that disclosure is not always what it should be, the right, nevertheless, exists.
The EPA, says Mr MacLean, is ahead of its sister organisations in Europe in terms of the on-going dynamic to put in place a rigid licensing code. The integrated pollution control licences are working and emissions to air and water will be drastically reduced over the next three years. In 1994, one IPC licence was issued, the following year, 22 companies were licensed, last year 82, and 200 licences were issued this year. The EPA has a staff of 156 and an annual budget of £8 million.