Polluters not being punished, says EPA chief

THE courts are failing to punish those accused of serious environmental pollution, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The environmental watchdog admitted there are serious shortfalls in enforcement of protection laws and that the EPA is being compromised in its attempts to make those responsible for environmental pollution accountable.

The EPA director general Dr Mary Kelly yesterday told the Sherkin Island marine station’s 23rd annual environmental conference it was very difficult to win prosecutions, particularly in the higher courts, against those accused of serious environmental pollution.