John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is great to have the witnesses here and I thank them for their attendance. The concept of environmental crime has not been treated very seriously in this country in recent years and that is why it is so important that directives like this are. This leads into my first question. Does the Department believe, in the context of other European countries, their standard of environmental law is substandard or poor? Is that why a directive like this is needed for member states across the European Continent?

I refer to improving cross-Border co-operation. I come from Dundalk, a Border area. The most significant environmental crimes that I have seen in my eight years of politics is fuel laundering and the dumping of illegal toxic sludge, not only on our roadways but in our rivers and lakes, which I have physically seen, of Border areas. That has actually decreased in recent years because of the dye and other measures we have introduced as a way of combating it. However, it is still an extremely serious issue in the part of the world from where I come. If possible, that is an area we need to focus on. I would love to hear more detail. I know it may be difficult to give details now because it is at an early stage, but it would be important to get more detail on what we can do in terms of cross-Border co-operation, particularly when going from a member state, the Republic of Ireland, into Northern Ireland which is no longer in the European Union.

Who would be the enforcement authority of this? Will it be done on a cross-sectoral basis? Will it be the Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Justice? Who will be the enforcement people of this?

Finally, I have a quick question, a basic one. Will the Department give a rough outline of the timeframe involved in this directive from start to finish and when can we expect to see it being implemented?