Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has told local authorities to be "more ambitious" in their prosecution of cases of environmental pollution.
Mr Roche said he did not want the State to be the subject of further prosecutions for breaches of EU environmental directives because some local authority somewhere was dragging its heels.
The Minister added that where local authorities were reluctant to take enforcement procedures he was prepared to send in the Office of Environmental Enforcement.
Confirming that he has signed a new directive on the remediation of illegal dumps, Mr Roche said the directive required that local authorities "must seek maximum penalties" for rogue operators and landowners in court prosecutions.
The directive also requires that illegally-dumped material be removed and sent for proper disposal at the landowner or operator's expense.
In a further move, the Minister said he had instructed local authorities to seek to recoup all of their costs involved with investigation and prosecution of cases.
The directive also applies to chemical contamination, leakages and virtually any type of environmental pollution for which remediation is required.
Penalties involved are up to 15 years in jail and fines as high as €15 million.
Meanwhile, it emerged yesterday that Brownfield Restoration, the company which bought the large Whitestown dump near Baltinglass, has threatened legal action against Wicklow County Council for a contribution of over €20 million towards the costs of cleaning up the dump.
According to the Wicklow Times, the principal of Brownfield Restoration, Ray Stokes, claims to have evidence that the council dumped at the site over a period of years.
Mr Stokes is quoted in today's editions of the paper as saying "the matter might have to go legal, and we will be looking for upwards of €20 million".
The Irish Times was unable to contact Mr Stokes yesterday.
