Recommended Minimum Criteria for Environmental Inspections (RMCEI)
What does RMCEI mean?
RMCEI stands for Recommended Minimum Criteria for Environmental Inspections.
It is a non-prescriptive recommendation made by the EU Parliament in 2001 (Recommendation 2001/331/EC) to its Member States. The purpose of this recommendation is to:
- Strengthen compliance with and ensure more consistent implementation and enforcement of EU environmental law.
- Establish minimum criteria for the organization, performance, and follow-up of environmental inspections.
- Improve a country's environmental protection by ensuring that inspections of regulated installations (e.g., industrial facilities) are planned, carried out effectively, and have their results made public.
In practice, this means that Member States are expected to create and maintain environmental inspection plans that cover their entire territory and all "controlled installations" (installations subject to environmental laws). These plans must include a program for routine inspections, procedures for non-routine inspections (in response to complaints or accidents), and a system for reporting on the inspections.
What is dlr required to do?
dlr produce and submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) an Environmental Inspection Plan (the RMCEI Plan) prior to end of February each year. The Plan outlines the number, frequency and timing of routine and non-routine inspections covering the National Enforcement Priorities (NEPs). The NEPs are established by the EPA whereas the quantity of and frequency of inspections is determined by dlr.
What is the Plan?
The Plan provides a more consistent implementation and enforcement of EU Environmental law. All environmental inspections carried out by a local authority should be encompassed within the scope of the RMCEI. The RMCEI Plan is a document detailing:
- the framework of environmental inspection targets to be undertaken in order to achieve environmental priorities and outcomes during the coming year, and
- identifies the inspections undertaken and the achievement of environmental priorities and outcomes in the previous year, by monitoring the performance against the targets.
What must be in the Plan?
- Define the time period and geographical area to which the plan relates;
- Detail specific sites or types of installations covered by the plan;
- Include a programme for routine environmental inspections;
- Include procedures for dealing with complaints, accidents and incidents;
- Develop procedures to coordinate actions with other Inspecting Authorities; and
- Define a timeframe within which the plan must be reviewed.
Can I see the Environmental Inspection Plan for dlr?
Yes. Click on the links below to view the 2025 RMCEI Plan for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. you can also see the 2024 NEP progress report detailing the results of the 2024 RMCEI plan.
Who regulates the Local Authority?
The Environmental Protection Agency has a supervisory role in relation to the performance by local authorities of their statutory environmental protection duties. The EPA’s Local Authority Performance Framework (LAPF) assesses local authority delivery of environmental outcomes.
In March 2025, the EPA audited Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Copies of the audit report and the response provided by dlr are provided below