Kildare food company is listed for enforcement by environmental watchdog

A County Kildare food company has been listed as a national property site by the state’s foremost independent environmental office.

The list is used to “target enforcement effort at the licensed operators with the poorest environmental performance.”

Naas-based Arrow Group Limited was among the sites listed across the country by the Environmental Protection Agency at the end the third quarter this year.

The company is based at the Maudlins Industrial Estate at Dublin road and according to the EPA, it includes the activities at this licensed site of Dawn Farm Foods Ltd, TCFG Naas Ltd (also known as The Culinary Food Group), QK Coldstores Ltd, Dawn Farms Distribution Ltd, and Maudlins Waste Management Ltd. 

The company has appeared on EPA lists in the past and the agency is using the national priority sites to “focus its enforcement effort at the worst performing sites.”

It says that sites that appear on the list are subject to an escalation of enforcement action by the EPA, up to and including legal action, suspension or revocation. .

The list of sites is produced by the EPA on a quarterly basis based on data for the previous 6 months.

Arrow has been listed because of odour and noise concerns.

Read more Kildare news

The agency has also stated that it intends to review the industrial emission licence granted to the company.

The EPA says this is being done “in light of a material change in the nature and extent of emissions at the installation and to assess the activity’s compliance with best available techniques.”

Eighteen months ago the company was fined a total of €24,000 for breaches of environmental legislation.

It follows complaints of noise and smell made by residents living close to the processing operation.

Six fines of €4,000 each, the maximum allowed, were imposed at a  Naas District Court sitting yesterday.