Closed and historic landfills
Before modern licensing, many towns had local dumps, often in old quarries, on bogs or beside rivers. The EPA's register of closed landfills records where they were. Old landfills can produce landfill gas (mainly methane) and leachate that can move through the ground, so building on or right beside one needs specialist investigation.
EPA-licensed facilities (IPPC / IED)
The EPA licenses larger industrial and waste activities, from pharmaceutical plants and power stations to intensive pig and poultry units and waste transfer stations. Each licence sets emission limits, and the EPA publishes the licences, annual reports and any complaints and enforcement at leap.epa.ie. A licensed facility nearby isn't a hazard in itself, but it can mean traffic, noise or odour, and it's worth reading its file.
Major emitters (PRTR)
The Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) is an EU register of facilities whose emissions cross reporting thresholds: Ireland's biggest in sectors such as energy, minerals, chemicals, waste and intensive farming. Because they can affect a wide area, InSite looks much further for these: up to 10 km.
Historic mines
The EPA has mapped historic and abandoned mine sites, including old lead, zinc, silver, copper and coal workings. Old mine waste can contain heavy metals, and old workings can be unstable. Places such as Silvermines in Tipperary and Avoca in Wicklow are well-known examples.
What it can't tell you
- Whether the ground on a site is contaminated. Many small dumps, filled pits and old works were never recorded. If a site was industrial, a garage, a dump or a filled quarry, or has made ground, get a ground investigation.
- Smaller businesses licensed by the council rather than the EPA aren't on these maps.
Sources
- EPA: Closed Landfills, IPPC/IED Licensed Facilities, PRTR facilities, Historic Mine Sites, via the EPA's map service, gis.epa.ie
Last reviewed 2026-10-02.