Two agri-food processing sites have appeared on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) list that sets out industrial and waste sites that were prioritised for enforcement action based on their environmental performance in Q1 2026.

Kildare-based Arrow Group’s site is listed due to “odour management” issues and North Cork Co-op Creameries Ltd appeared due to “emissions to water and infrastructure management”.

Co Wicklow landfill Ballynagran Landfill Limited, Co Clare chemical site Chemifloc Limited and Co Cavan metals site Kyte Powertech Limited also appeared on the list.

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North Cork woes

During 2025, the EPA issued a water discharge suspension notice to North Cork Creameries, as the site received 50 EPA visits over the calendar year.

The suspension notice was lifted for a month and a half, but invoked again after the EPA said that “over the six weeks since the notice was lifted, [North Cork Creameries] have failed to maintain adequate control of the plant leading to ongoing non-compliances with emission limit values”.

Dawn Farm Foods-linked site

The Queally family-owned Arrow Group was inspected 18 times by the EPA in 2025.

The reappearance of Arrow Group on the EPA’s national priority site list comes after its previous mentions were flagged to the Oireachtas agriculture committee earlier this year as the reason that the company - that Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin manages - could not attain Bord Bia Origin Green gold status.

The Dawn Farm Foods managing director told TDs and senators that “we absolutely have compliance with EPA priorities nationally as a very high important goal to achieve” before the Dáil voted confidence in Murrin to remain as chair.

“The site on which we operate holds an environmental licence from the EPA in the name of our parent company, the Arrow Group which is a Queally family holding, and the site was placed on the priority list by the EPA, with a number of conditions attaching to it,” Murrin said in February.

“I take the EPA very seriously, as do all the directors. I think members of the farming community know this as well as members of the food and drink industry.”