Analysis: The agency came into being at the time of a changing econony and a growing focus on protecting the environment
By Frances Nolan, UCD
Ireland's Environmental Protection Agency was formally established in July 1993. The creation of an independent public regulatory body with responsibility for the protection and improvement of the environment was a landmark moment in the history of the State. It was also evidence of a changing nation; the isolationist, agricultural and traditional Ireland that Eamon de Valera dreamed of was set aside in the second half of the 20th century, as successive governments pursued industrial development through foreign direct investment (FDI).
But at the same time as Ireland sought to industrialise, other Western nations were confronted by the impact of heavy industry on the natural environment. This increased public awareness and green activism, informed legislation and policy in certain pioneer countries and drove international cooperation. The establishment of the US EPA in 1970 demonstrated this monumental shift, as did the publication of the European Commission's first Environmental Action Programme in 1973.
Ireland's accession to the European Communities (EC) the same year and membership of the bloc resulted in the Irish Government’s 'growing familiarisation and engagement with the environmental agenda.' However, the protection of the environment was not prioritised with the focus on economic development.
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From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ News report Kevin McDonald talks to Minister for the Environment Pádraig Flynn on plans to tackle pollution problems
The Department of Local Government was renamed the Department of the Environment in 1977, but this was a largely symbolic change. As Minister Sylvester Barrett informed the Dáil, ‘the welfare of the physical environment’ would continue to be promoted, ‘as in the past, through the local government system.’ Ireland’s 33 local authorities were thus responsible for air and water pollution controls, sanitation and water management, while the job of monitoring and reporting on the environment fell to An Foras Forbatha, the National Institute of Physical Planning and Construction Research.
A change in approach would only follow experience. The pressure to create jobs in the 1970s and 1980s meant that pollution controls were often bypassed to attract investment. The growth of the pharmaceutical and chemical sector, in particular, posed an ecological challenge that Ireland was ill-equipped to deal with. The Government struggled to transpose European directives on the environment into Irish law and local authorities failed to consistently implement complex legislation. Media coverage contributed to increasing public awareness of Irish environmental issues, which were often discussed in relation to international developments.
A legal case taken by Tipperary farmer John Hanrahan against the US pharmaceutical multinational, Merck, Sharp and Dohme, attracted significant media attention and marked a turning point in the 'jobs versus the environment' debate. In 1988, after a years-long legal battle, the Supreme Court awarded the Hanrahan family damages for the suspected impact of emissions on livestock and on Hanrahan’s health.
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From RTÉ Archives, Michael Ryan reports for RTÉ News in July 1988 on John Hanrahan winning his Supreme Court case against Merck, Sharp and Dohme
Many feared that Ireland was overly reliant on the pharmaceutical industry and proposals to develop other plants were met with protests from local groups and environmental activists. US pharmaceutical multinational Merrell Dow abandoned plans to construct a plant in east Cork in September 1989, following a protest campaign. As Irish Times journalist Mark Hennessy noted, Merrell Dow would once have been "welcomed into East Cork, an area crippled by unemployment, with open arms … However, the decade long battle of Hanrahan against Merck, Sharpe and Dohme has changed the rules."
The derailment of development by protest groups had become a major economic concern. By the end of the 1980s, multinationals wanted more robust environmental regulation to counteract public unease. In this context, Irish political parties had to demonstrate ‘green’ credentials and the environment became a significant issue in the 1989 General Election. Entering coalition, Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats committed to establishing an Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency', which would 'deal … with policy issues and would have an advisory and monitoring role.’
The junior Minister at the Department of the Environment, Mary Harney, was tasked with its creation. Following a period of consultation and fact-finding missions to equivalent agencies across Europe, Harney recognised that the agency's success would be contingent upon its independence and held firm in that view when challenged by Pádraig Flynn, then senior Minister at the Department. Harney and Flynn announced details of the agency in December 1989 and a team was assembled to draft the legislation.
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From RTÉ Archives, Bob Powell reports for RTÉ News on the Government's publication of a bill in December 1990 to set up the EPA
However, the development was not welcomed in all corners. Secretary to the Government, Dermot Nally, expressed concern over the extent of the proposed agency’s authority and its cost to the Exchequer, and argued that the planning code was effective in regulating environmental matters. This view was not shared by Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who recognised the importance of an 'objective, impartial’ regulatory body in attracting FDI and proclaimed Ireland’s ‘green presidency’ of the EC in 1990.
The EPA Bill reached second stage in the Seanad in January 1991, with Harney telling members that ‘It is no longer an issue of jobs or the environment. In the 1990s it is going to be an issue of jobs because of the environment.’ The Bill moved slowly through the Oireachtas, with over 600 amendments tabled across the two Houses. As the Bill moved toward enactment in April 1992, Harney noted that this was ‘only the very beginning’ for the EPA and an intense period of organisation and recruitment followed, before and after the Agency’s formal establishment in 1993.
The first Board of Directors comprised Bill McCumiskey (Director General), Marie Sherwood (Deputy Director General), Ann Butler, Iain MacLean and Declan Burns. Scientific expertise was secured through transfers from existing public bodies and direct recruitment, while administrative staff were recruited from the Civil Service.
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From RTÉ Archives, Cathy Milner reports for RTÉ News on the launch of the EPA in July 1993 after three and a half years in development
In July 1992, Minister for the Environment Michael Smith announced that EPA headquarters would be located in Johnstown Castle, near Wexford town. Smith initially favoured Dublin, but was asked to reconsider ‘in the context of the policy of decentralisation.’ Johnstown Castle was subsequently discovered to be unsuitable and a new building was constructed on the grounds, with staff moving in in March 1998.
For over three decades, the EPA has been responsible for protecting, improving and restoring Ireland's environment through regulation, scientific knowledge and collaboration. In 2014, the Agency assumed responsibility for radiological protection and in 2020, an OECD report noted it had ‘established itself as a trusted and respected body’ with ‘a strong culture of independence’; that its remit was expanded ‘because of its reputation to deliver’; and that it is highly respected in Europe.
Dr Frances Nolan is an SFI-IRC Pathway Fellow and Principal Investigator on the Law versus Practice project at UCD School of History. She is the author of a report on the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
