Dr. Eimear Cotter:

Sanctions are within the remit of the courts. The sanctions and penalties that are levelled in court following a prosecution are not within our gift. We really do not have a role in that. However, as the environmental regulator, we take an average 14 or 15 prosecutions every year across large industries that we regulate under the industrial emissions directive. We also regulate Uisce Éireann and have prosecuted Uisce Éireann 28 times. Five of those prosecutions have concluded this year and significantly related to where wastewater treatment plants impacted on the environment. The powers are there and we use them as we need to. As we mentioned during the discussion, we would like to see more effective implementation and enforcement of environmental legislation by local authorities, in particular as it relates to water quality.