The European Court of Justice is to make its first ruling next week in relation to a prosecution against Ireland by the European Union over alleged failures by authorities here to prevent illegal dumping.
It has also emerged that the European Commission is carrying out an investigation into a series of complaints that Ireland has failed to take adequate measures against the export of waste for illegal dumping in unauthorised sites in Northern Ireland and abroad.
The case before the European courts followed a series of complaints about unauthorised waste activity in Ireland between 2001 and 2004, and has been before the court for the last three years.
Yesterday a spokesman for the Environment Directorate of the Commission, which took the case, said the opinion from the Advocate General of the court was due to be delivered next week.
The court will then make its judgment, based on this legal opinion. Should a judgment be made against Ireland, it faces significant daily fines if the sites complained of have not been cleared of illegal waste.
The prosecution was taken before the discovery of a series of large illegal dumps in Co Wicklow, the largest ever uncovered in Ireland, containing over 600,000 tonnes of waste. Criminal charges have been brought against a number of people in relation to one of the sites.
The Commission has acknowledged that since 2001 there have been improvements in enforcement of waste activities, including the establishment of an Office for Environmental Enforcement, but has claimed these have been far from sufficient.
Last July the Commission issued a series of warnings to Ireland over breaches of environment law, including the failure to tackle illegal waste activity.
"However, complaints investigated since 2001 show that serious problems persist," it said in that statement.
"In particular, illegal waste sites have not been cleaned up in all cases, and the waste in question has not been covered by waste licences that respect the environment. Evidence of effective sanctions imposed on illegal waste operators is also lacking."
Yesterday an official at the Commission said inquiries centred around a series of illegal dumps, uncovered in Northern Ireland, that contained waste from the Republic.
He said that the Commission was also investigating the administrative failures that led to the discovery in Rotterdam and Antwerp ports last year of hundreds of tonnes of recycling material originating from Ireland.
The waste was being exported illegally without proper documentation and was returned to waste companies in Ireland. Investigations are ongoing into illegal waste traffic from the Republic into Northern Ireland. The investigation involves officials from the EPA's Office for Environmental Enforcement, gardaí, members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and investigators from Northern Ireland's Environment and Heritage Service.