Green Party:An environmental court with the power to impose swingeing fines and significant jail sentences on offenders would "concentrate the mind of polluters", the Green Party said yesterday at the launch of its environmental protection policy document.
Environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said average fines of less than €2,600 were "derisory" and did not act as a deterrent.
Mr Cuffe said the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has often had to go to the District Court to prosecute offenders because of delays in the higher courts, but the maximum fine of €3,000 was having no major effect on large-scale polluters.
The court would be set up on the lines of the employment court and the commercial list in the High Court. Its tariffs, including jail sentences, would be set after consultation with the EPA, the Director of Public Prosecutions and An Bord Pleanála.
"I think, particularly when you are talking about the pollution of water supplies or the air, it is crucial that a strong message goes out that you are at risk of being jailed for causing environmental pollution," Mr Cuffe said.
The Green Party proposes radical reform of the EPA itself, including an independent appeals procedure on the lines of An Bord Pleanála to the granting of integrated pollution control licences.
The Greens also want the remit of the EPA to include consideration of human health when making decisions.
The party has also proposed an all-island structure for environmental protection and enforcement.
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