The director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Laura Burke, has confirmed that she will be retiring from the agency in November of this year, "leaving the director general post vacant".

Burke was appointed to the role in 2011 and also served as a director within the EPA since 2004.

She informed the EPA advisory committee that her departure is just one of a number of "significant changes" to the agency board this year.

It is understood that two directors are also retiring, one in May and another in September.

The committee were informed that the director posts were advertised in December 2024 and the director general post will be advertised in mid-2025, and that the EPA is "actively engaging with the Department of Climate, Environment and Energy (DECC) and Public Appointments Service (PAS) "to ensure it is done in an efficient and timely manner".

In relation to overall staffing levels within the agency, the EPA advisory committee heard that the DECC "sanctioned 30 additional posts for the EPA in June 2024, bringing the total number of staff to 550 up from 418 in 2021".

The committee also heard how roles for the EPA have "grown significantly" in relation to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The committee were of the "complexity and challenges with regard to on-going phasing in and implementation of CBAM and ETS".

Minutes from the EPA advisory committee meeting in January 2025 at the agency's headquarters in Co. Wexford, detail that there were "wide-ranging" discussions on greenhouse gas indicators, agriculture Inspections, and water quality and nitrates derogation.

During the meeting, the agency's Office of Environmental Enforcement also outlined some of its key priorities for 2025 which include; reducing the impact of agriculture on water quality, 4,500 farm inspections by local authorities, and local authority oversight on illegal peat harvesting.

The EPA advisory committee was also advised that the agency is finalising the 2025 Budget and is "actively engaging" with the DECC.