One-stop court proposed to tackle wildlife and pollution issues

The new court would be less formal than regular courts, and would be able to deal with disputes between neighbours over environmental matters, water pollution, wildlife offences, hedge cutting, or habitat destruction, at a much lower legal cost for all concerned.

A new one-stop environmental court should be established to deal with everyday issues like wildlife crime, illegal hedge cutting, and air and water pollution, a taskforce of legal experts has recommended.

The proposal, which has support within government circles, seeks to streamline environmental law issues in a manner similar to the operations of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) or the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).