State Papers: Top civil servant found EPA establishment 'objectionable' due to jobs fears

Businesses would not set up in a country where they had to go through environmental regulations, claimed Dermot Nally in 1990

Dermot Nally (pictured) also criticised the legislation for imposing an obligation on an elected body, such as a local authority, to comply with a direction from the EPA, a non-elected body.

The country’s top civil servant was strongly opposed to the establishment of a new environmental watchdog body favoured by the Taoiseach, Charles Haughey in 1990, newly-released State papers have revealed.

Secret Government files released for the first time under the 30-year rule show the secretary-general of the Department of the Taoiseach, Dermot Nally, resisted the setting up of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the face of strong support for the creation of the new body by both Mr Haughey and the Minister for the Environment, Padraig Flynn.

'Objectionable'

In a letter to the Taoiseach, Mr Nally said the legislation establishing the EPA was “objectionable” and the new watchdog body would be a “massive addition to bureaucracy”. The senior civil servant also argued that the EPA would act as a disincentive for foreign direct investment in Ireland.

“Environmental protection is a worthy objective. If, however, it is allowed to become obsessional, then development will stop; and we can forget about more employment since the factories and firms and services which give that employment will not set up or expand - for ‘environmental’ reasons,” said Mr Nally.

He claimed developers already had to go through an excruciating series of hoops to acquire title to a land, get planning permission and observe building regulations as well as dealing with tribunals on equality, unfair dismissal and health and safety.

“There is evidence to suggest that what attracts investment to a country is not grants or specific incentives but the general level of regulation. If there is too much of it the investment goes elsewhere. We are, I think, in some danger of moving over this border line,” said Mr Nally.

He added: “The planning code, obstructive and it can be, is a great deal more balanced than the approach under this Bill… It can encourage development, while at the same time preserving the environment. 

The point is that development is the priority, not the environment, however important that may be.

Mr Nally enjoyed some support for his opposition to the creation of the EPA from the Minister of Finance, Albert Reynolds, who claimed its proposed staffing levels of 133 and annual budget of IR£7m were “completely unacceptable” at a time when the Government was trying to reduce the size of the civil service.

Mr Nally also criticised the legislation for imposing an obligation on a local authority to comply with a direction from the EPA.

The official said it was unprecedented to permit a non-elected body power of direction over an elected body, while the power of the EPA to require funds from councils for environmental purposes was described by Mr Nally as “really extraordinary.” 

Documents, however, show the Taoiseach claimed there was a need for an “objective impartial body” for granting licences and monitoring air, water and water pollution, although he acknowledged new industries were faced with too many licences and documents to set up business.

A memo from the Department of the Environment justified the need for the new agency because the environment in Ireland was “coming under increasing pressure from development.” 

It claimed many local authorities around the country did not have either the financial resources or the expertise to deal with more complex pollution issues.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB