The Minister for the Environment is to establish a special environment policing body to clamp down on illegal dumping and environmental pollution.
Mr Cullen is finalising the plans, which will also see local authorities facing financial penalties if they fail to enforce environmental regulations properly in their areas. The new agency is being established amid concerns by the Minister and his staff that current environmental protection legislation is not being properly enforced.
According to internal Departmental briefing notes, the new body, which will investigate major cases of illegal pollution, will be designed to act as "a policing agency with backbone" and "an overarching environmental enforcement watchdog with statutory teeth".
It will be "dedicated, professional and fully resourced with extensive powers with a specific focus on enforcement", according to the documents.
The new Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE) is being established in response to what the Government believes to be a weakness in the current environmental regime, which has seen illegal dumping and other specific breaches of environmental law going unchallenged. A Government source said: "The Minister believes that the lack of such a specific enforcement watchdog in the past has been the weak link."
It is envisaged the new body will oversee the prosecution of significant dumping and pollution cases, operating closely with local authorities and the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. It will also operate in an advisory capacity in relation to other cases.
Local councils will continue to have statutory responsibilities in relation to environmental protection in their areas, such as the licensing of small and medium waste management facilities and monitoring water quality.
Under regulations being prepared, the performance of local authorities in enforcing environmental legislation will be audited by the OEE. Authorities will also be penalised if their environmental enforcement records are not up to a required standard.
The new enforcement body will be officially announced in September and is expected to be operating by the end of the year.
A new Protection of the Environment Act has increased fines for illegal pollution.
The OEE will operate as a dedicated unit within the Environmental Protection Agency, which already has responsibility for prosecuting breaches of pollution control licences and policing large-scale landfills and waste facilities. The proposals follow months of consultation between Mr Cullen, his officials, environmental experts and the EPA. International models of enforcement were also examined as part of the consultation process.
Under the plans there will be a "particular emphasis on the OEE providing and acting as a resource to the public". Commitments have also been given to the agency that the new unit will be properly resourced.
It will be operated by existing EPA staff and other professionals experienced in environmental enforcement. It will be financed out of the Environment Fund, established using revenue from the plastic bag tax and landfill levy. Revenue from new anti-litter taxes on chewing-gum and ATM receipts will also be included in the fund.
Environmental groups have raised concerns that the EPA was not sufficiently proactive in taking action against firms and individuals suspected of illegal pollution.
Until now, the EPA has concentrated on encouraging compliance with environmental regulations and had no dedicated enforcement unit to target breaches outside the licensing system.
"There's a wide public acceptance that illegal activity that damages the environment should not be countenanced," according to a senior Government official.
"The penalties are there. Those involved in illegal pollution can be jailed for 10 years or fined up to €15 million."
Without strong enforcement, "we will not achieve the environmental quality we want".