Tourism is a resource-intensive industry that leaves a big footprint on the environment.  More and more European hotels are thus adopting environmental management schemes which add value regarding: Legal compliance with environmental legislation; The measurement and evaluation of environmental performance against objectives and targets; Continuous improvement of that environmental performance; Strong employee involvement; Environmental core indicators facilitating...

The EPA has published greenhouse gas emissions projections for the period 2011 to 2020.  The projected trends for greenhouse gases and give a picture of Ireland’s ability to meet EU and international targets with respect to greenhouse gas emissions: Ireland can comply with its Kyoto obligations (2008 – 2012) with regard to greenhouse gas emissions....

The WATER SERVICES (AMENDMENT) ACT 2012 has been published wherein provision has been made to require households to register their septic tanks by February 1 2013. Registration can be completed online at www.protectourwater.ie The act incorporates new rules on septic tanks which will oblige homeowners to make sure they are working properly and not polluting...

Excess soil and stone is regularly generated at development and construction sites.  Sometimes the soil and stone is from greenfield sites and contains no anthropogenic contamination.  Other times, the soil and stone is from brownfield sites – ranging from sites that simply had buildings on them to sites that are heavily contaminated with industrial or...

The ESRI report, Environment Review 2012, presents projections of environmental emissions such as greenhouse gases, waste generation, and nutrients from agriculture covering the period to 2030. Greenhouse Gas Emissions:  Ireland will comply with its Kyoto Protocol target covering the period 2008-2012 but compliance with longer term targets will be much more difficult.  Without significant policy...

The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government invites comments on the transposition of the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU). The Directive revises and merges seven separate existing Directives related to industrial emissions into a single Directive and aims to simplify existing legislation related to industrial emissions.  The seven existing Directives are the: 3 Titanium...

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government (12 June 2012) presented a motion to the Select Sub-Committee on Environment, Community and Local Government proposing approval by Dáil Éireann of the ratification by Ireland of the Aarhus Convention . Ireland signed the Aarhus Convention on its adoption in June 1998 and is the only EU...

In recent years, strict legislation was introduced to control the amount of nitrate and phosphate that runs into the sea from European rivers.  However, water quality has not improved as much as expected and researchers estimate that a time lag of up to 40 years may need to be considered. Excess nutrients can cause an unnatural...

The European Commission is launching a new public consultation, which is meant to provide input for the mid-term review of the industrial policy communication planned for September 2012. This review will focus on developing a limited number of new initiatives that can deliver substantial results in the short to medium-term. The consultation is due to identify...

The aim of the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA Directive) is to ensure that projects which are likely to have a significant effect on the environment are adequately assessed before they are approved. To identify and assess possible impacts on the environment before any decision is taken to allow the project to proceed. To allow...