The Minister for the Environment has allocated €7 million to the State's local authorities to help them enforce new laws against illegal waste-dumping.
The money is to be used to fund inspection teams to check on dumps and vehicles carrying waste to ensure they comply with the law. It is also intended to allow for better responses to complaints about illegal dumping.
The money is the first annual allocation in a five-year programme of law-enforcement in relation to waste activities. It follows the passage this year of the Protection of the Environment Act 2003 which increases the fines for offences under the waste management acts to a maximum of €15 million for conviction on indictment.
The new legislation also reverses the burden of proof in certain cases, so that it will be up to the defendant to prove that an activity did not cause environmental pollution. There is also a new provision under which a landowner can be deemed to be complicit in illegal dumping in certain cases unless the contrary can be proved.
Announcing the funding yesterday, Mr Cullen said passing legislation "is all very fine but without a credible system of enforcement, the regulatory system will never reach its full potential. My priority now is to ensure that there is a very visible local authority enforcement presence on the ground.
"Those involved in illegal dumping or who otherwise try to flout the law in relation to waste must get the message that the law must be enforced and that through today's provision of financial resources to local authorities, the law will be enforced."
The €7 million funding is being taken from the environment fund which is financed by the plastic bag and landfill levies. Each local authority will now be required to set out a planned programme of action to enforce the waste management laws.
Mr Cullen also plans to establish a new office of environmental enforcement within the Environmental Protection Agency.