Galway City Council has been named by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as one of three top performing local authorities for environmental enforcement in the Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report 2025.
The annual report by the Environmental Protection Agency examines how local authorities are addressing ‘National Enforcement Priorities’ (NEPs) to improve environmental compliance and achieve positive outcomes for waste, water, air and noise.
Only three local authorities – Galway City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Council – achieved the required standard across all relevant NEPs.
Actions in Galway City Council include increased rate of inspections, risk-based inspections targeting high risk establishments and extensive follow up with enforcement actions whenever a non-compliance was detected.
Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Helen Ogbu said, “Galway City Council plays a vital role in protecting our environment in Galway City – from providing amenity sites, bulky goods collections and Christmas tree recycling, for example, to enforcement of environmental licencing, daily street cleaning, and supporting community initiatives such as clean ups, repair workshops and schools’ programmes. Galway City Council Staff, working in partnership with other agencies and community groups, are at the heart of this positive result, and I congratulate all those involved in this achievement.”
Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive, Galway City Council said, “This EPA report demonstrates the importance and effectiveness of enforcement in tackling environmental performance. Galway City Council has prioritised resourcing in this area over the past number of years, with the appointment of Waste Enforcement Officer and Environmental Scientist, working in conjunction with our Community Wardens, Environmental Awareness Officer, Litter Management Unit, and the team in Environment. The work of the team has transformed Galway City Council’s performance in 2024, when seven of 19 NEPs were reaching the required standard, to now being one of the top three in the country, with all 13 NEPs achieving the required standard. The 2025 report found that Galway City was one of only three local authorities meeting the required standard, and the only local authority outside Dublin to achieve this result. Galway City Council will continue to build on this positive result, with recent initiatives including installation of CCTV to prevent illegal dumping; a community-led anti-litter project in Ballybane including a rap video created with students from a local primary school; working groups with community leaders; and environmental awareness events.”
The 2025 Local Authority Environmental Enforcement Performance Report is available on the EPA website, see https://www.epa.ie/publications/compliance--enforcement/public-authorities/Local-Authority-Environmental-Enforcement-Performance-Report-2025.pdf