EU waste laws - Action on dumping is long overdue

The measures announced yesterday by Environment Minister Dick Roche against illegal dumps resemble closing the stable door after the horse had bolted.

The stringent fines and jail terms unveiled under emergency regulations come in the wake of the findings of the European Court of Justice that Ireland did not comply with EU waste laws and had tolerated the existence of illegal landfills.

The State, effectively, was adjudged to have failed to deal with waste in such a way as to protect health and the environment.