In 2025, farm inspections carried out by local authorities increased by 66% compared with 2024, according to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) local authority environmental enforcement performance report 2025.
Additionally, farm enforcement actions were 68% higher than in 2024.
Twenty-four local authorities achieved the required standard for the two agriculture national enforcement priorities which include slurry/soiled water collection and storage and slurry and fertiliser spreading.
Local authorities must sustain this increased level of farm-inspection activity and should increase follow-up enforcement to drive compliance with good agricultural practice regulations and reduce the impact on water quality, according to the EPA.
Agriculture continues to have a significant impact on water quality, resulting in excess levels of nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, and sediment entering our waterways, the report details.
Peat enforcement
The unauthorised large-scale extraction of peat continues to be a significant environmental issue for some local authorities, according to the report.
While large-scale peat extraction is not a national enforcement priority, the EPA has identified 44 sites of interest in at least eight local authority areas including Longford, Westmeath, Roscommon, Sligo, Offaly, Kildare, Tipperary and Galway.
Local authorities need to ensure that, where large peat extraction is taking place, it is properly authorised and approved under planning legislation.
The EPA has said the report shows strong overall performance by local authorities in delivering their environmental enforcement responsibilities, while it also identifies some areas requiring improvement.
Some 83% of the national enforcement priority work carried out by local authorities met the required standard of strong or excellent, an increase of 4% compared with 2024.
However, 17% of national enforcement priority assessments fell below the required standard.
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