I propose to take Questions Nos. 9, 54, and 98 together.
The reported incidents of illegal cross-Border movements of waste into Northern Ireland, which by their nature are difficult to detect and quantify, have been discussed at ministerial level within the framework of overall North-South co-operation on common issues. On foot of these discussions, a high level meeting was held on 21 May 2004, involving representatives from my Department and the Department of the Environment in Northern Ireland, as well as from local authorities in both jurisdictions, the office of environmental enforcement, the Garda Síochána, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the respective customs services. At this meeting very useful exchanges took place, particularly in regard to the scope for securing better inter-agency co-operation on enforcement, on which there has been improvement. I am confident this engagement, which will continue, will yield more effective enforcement operations in the short and medium term.
Illegal waste activities are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Those involved are criminals and, on my watch, I intend the law of the land will be applied to the letter as well as the spirit. The effective operation of the regulatory regime for the waste sector is a key priority. To this end, a number of significant initiatives designed to achieve more vigorous enforcement of the waste code in this jurisdiction have been introduced. These are designed to support the activities of local authorities, which are the primary enforcement authorities.
I will provide some examples. First, the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 provides new enforcement powers and increases the maximum fines for contraventions of the waste code. Conviction on indictment for an offence under the Act now carries a maximum fine of €15 million, as well as a term of imprisonment of up to ten years. These are severe penalties and I hope, where appropriate, they will be applied in full by the courts.
Second, we have completed the establishment of a new office of environmental enforcement, located within the Environmental Protection Agency. While it has a wide remit, the OEE is focused on waste related enforcement activities in its early stages and is already operational in this area. I pay tribute to its staff because they are dealing with a thuggish, criminal element, some of whom have paramilitary connections. We know of the risks young staff are taking.
Third, the importance of providing additional resources to underpin the waste enforcement effort has been acknowledged. In this regard, some €7 million from the environment fund has been allocated to local authorities to support the first year of a major five-year programme of local authority waste enforcement activities. I take a most serious view of these events. I have firsthand experience of criminal activity in County Wicklow when parts of the county were despoiled by dumpers. This new development is sinister and will be dealt with seriously.
