EPA - Ireland's Environment, An Integrated Assessment - 2020

Chapter 16: Conclusions Aeriel view of parts of the Burren, Co. Clare 2. Environmental Scorecard for Ireland A wide range of environmental regulations, plans and policies are now in place in Ireland to protect and improve the environment. The evidence presented in this report indicates that some legislation, plans and policies have been more effective than others at improving regulation and reporting and have been more successful at addressing very specific environmental issues. However, we are now dealing with different challenges where we need a much stronger focus on integrating the environment into sectoral policies and addressing wider systemic issues. The summary scorecard analysis shown in Table 16.1 suggests that the scale of improvements now being made is insufficient to meet long-term objectives and targets, especially for more diffuse and systemic issues. The objective to deliver on people’s expectations to live in a healthy and protected environment will not be met in the short or medium term (2030) without transformative changes. Table 16.1 summarises the trends and outlook for Ireland across selected policy areas. 425