Kingspan fined €42K for breaches of emissions licence

Fines totalling €42,000 were imposed at Monaghan District Court on Castleblayney-based manufacturer Kingspan Insulation Limited in an Environmental Protection Agency-instigated prosecution arising from breaches of its industrial emissions licence.

The company, located at Castleblayney’s Bree Industrial Estate, was fined €3,000 on each of 14 counts to which it entered guilty pleas, one arising from an exceedance of its dioxin emission limit on November 28 2024; six counts of failing to notify the EPA as soon as practicable of the breach of its RTO operating temperature on various dates between July 29 2024 and January 13 2025; six counts of using the RTO during production while it was operating below its minimum production temperature of 850 degrees Celsius on various dates between April 30 2024 and January 12 2025; and one count of failing to provide an audible alarm on the RTO on November 29 2024.

Twelve further counts were taken into consideration by Judge Raymond Finnegan, who also directed that the company meet €5,690 in costs. Mr Ronan C Kennedy SC said it was a source of deep disappointment to the company to find itself before the court, and outlined comprehensive remedial measures now in place to minimise a recurrence of the licence breach. Mr Kennedy referred to the significant employment Kingspan provided in Castleblayney and described it as a company with a social conscience and a deep involvement in the ‘Blayney community and in GAA sponsorship.

In reply to County Monaghan State Solicitor Dermot O’Neill, Moira Kelly, Environmental Awareness Officer with Monaghan County Council, gave evidence of the breach of air emissions that had occurred on November 28 2024 when monitoring detected a polluting level of dioxins. She said the company, which manufactured insulation boards and insulation beads, is also before the court for failure to notify the EPA of breaches in the operating temperature of the RTO or regenerative thermal oxidiser, an industrial air pollution control device which dealt with hazardous air pollutants and odorous emissions from the manufacturing process.

Ms Kelly said there are also charges against the defendant for having the RTO operating below the minimum required temperature during production. She explained that the oxidiser burns off emissions and must be maintained above a certain temperature for it to operate properly.

The witness told Mr O’Neill that there was a previous conviction against the company for emission breaches at its Castleblayney plant that was disposed of in the District Court.

She described the level of co-operation from the company with the investigation as fine, stating that they had to keep going back to the company to get further information but this was furnished when required.

Cross-examined by Mr Kennedy, Ms Kelly agreed that the emission limit value exceedance was a single isolated incident on November 28 2024, and there have been no further incidents with RTO temperature changes since January 2025. She accepted that the company has taken the matter very seriously, confirming that on the same date of January 1 2025 when the company was formally notified of the matter it had made contact to discuss the issue.The witness further confirmed to Mr Kennedy that Kingspan sent a letter to the EPA indicating the matter had been investigated and the RTO was found not to be operating at required levels over a number of shifts; that corrective action had been taken with alarms installed; that thereafter investigation findings were formally reported to the EPA, and repeat testing was conducted by an independent agency and a compliant result was achieved.

Ms Kelly also accepted that Kingspan has revised protocols to ensure the process line does not operate except at a certain temperature and staff have been trained in awareness of this protocol and that all the results of subsequent testing have been within the appropriate limits.

Counsel put it to the witness that it is fair to say a good deal of work has been done, and the previous prosecution occurred before the putting in place of the RTO, which has cost €1.25 million to install.

Ms Kelly said she is not aware of all the costs involved but they would be significant.

Judge Finnegan asked why dioxins were being emitted over a protracted period and no corrective action was taken. Mr Kennedy said many of the instances giving rise to the number of charges were recorded or noticed after the fact.

Ms Kelly told Judge Finnegan that the Castleblayney plant is adjacent a residential community but there were no reported issues with residents.

She explained that a very small level of dioxins could bioaccumulate once they got into the soil or the surrounding area.

Mr Kennedy in his mitigation submission said only one of the charges related to the exceedance of an emission limit with the others being more of a technical nature. In the ten-year history of the factory there has been no other ELV or emission level value breach, which he argued is significant in light of the quarterly testing regime in place. The EPA has repeated these tests and found the factory to be compliant.

He said Kingspan deeply regrets the incident and is committed to ensuring compliance with all regulatory obligations particularly those required by its emissions licence.

“It is a source of great disappointment to senior management that the company finds itself before the court,” counsel added, pointing out that both Kingspan Insulation Ireland Managing Director Niall O’Connor, and Head of Corporate Affairs with Kingspan Group plc Anthony Doherty, were present at the hearing.

Mr Kennedy told the court that Kingspan has been a long-standing member of the Castleblayney community and is a significant local employer with a staff of 120 people. It is a company with a social conscience very heavily involved in the local community and in GAA sponsorship. Kingspan has spent considerable resources to ensure the RTO is now working properly and has taken important steps to ensure future risks are minimised.

Counsel further stated that the company fully co-operated with the investigation and are being convicted essentially on the basis of their own records which they produced during the investigation. He also pointed out that convictions may be considered by the EPA when issuing future licences.