EPA defends spending taxpayers’ money on opera and yo-yos

THE state’s environmental and waste watchdog has been forced to defend itself after spending thousands of euro in taxpayers’ money on corporate sponsorship and promotional trinkets.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has suffered reductions in staff and budgets due to cutbacks, still found money to spend on sponsoring operas, providing “team-building” outings for staff, purchasing paintings and bulk-buying EPA-branded fridge magnets, T-shirts, rubber balls, water bottles and yo-yos.

Figures released under a Freedom of Information request show €87,000 was given to the Wexford Opera Festival to help defray the costs of the annual event since 2008 while the RTÉ television series, Eco Eye, presented by Duncan Stewart, cost the agency €350,000.