Pressure from the European Union to put an end to illegal dumping and to protect the quality of our environment and inland waterways has encouraged the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to establish an Office of Environmental Enforcement. The new agency will be funded from the €7 million raised last year through a tax on plastic bags and it has been given a number of important new powers.
The declining number of legal landfill sites and the growing cost of waste disposal has made illegal dumping hugely lucrative. Two years ago, Wicklow County Council cracked down on the practice and it has identified more than 100 sites where illegal dumping took place. Many other local authorities are believed to have similar problems, arising partially from administrative failures.
In the past, governments introduced well-meaning legislation and then failed to ensure that robust action was taken against polluters. The ambivalent role of local authorities, a shortage of financial resources and the absence of a dedicated enforcement agency all contributed to the situation. This time, it may be different. The Office of Environmental Enforcement will operate as a distinct unit within the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) and will be allowed to avail of its data sources, technical services and legal powers. It has also been granted new powers.
Ministerial Orders signed by Mr Cullen under the Waste Management Acts and the Environment Act, 2003, have reversed the burden of proof in certain cases. Landowners may be required to demonstrate they did not permit illegal dumping on their property. And a defendant may have to prove his activity did not cause pollution. In addition, video and tape recording evidence will be recognised by law and the cost of prosecutions can be recovered by the EPA. Vehicles involved in illegal dumping may be stopped and detained by the Garda Síochána.
Mr Cullen has been talking tough. He described the new agency as an enforcement watchdog with teeth. In spite of that, the prosecution of offenders is still regarded as an "ultimate deterrent" and the agency will operate largely through informal warnings and legally binding notices. This lack of aggression in its policing role is reflected in a further decision to modify the powers of the agency where local authorities are concerned.
Local authorities have a dismal record on pollution. Historically, councils have behaved as both gamekeepers and poachers. As law enforcers, their officials ignored the establishment of illegal landfills, while many inadequate council sewage systems polluted waterways. The new enforcement agency will only be allowed to monitor the performance of such councils, provide advice and guidance and, as a last resort, issue a binding direction. But no prosecutions may be taken. That is bad law and should be changed.