The Environmental Protection Agency's director of enforcement, Mr Gerry Carty, has resigned from his post and will leave in a month's time.
Mr Carty took up the appointment last October when the Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE) within the EPA was established.
Yesterday, Mr Carty would not comment on his resignation. An EPA spokeswoman confirmed that he had resigned and said the reason was that he was relocating and would be pursuing another opportunity. Although he had been director of the OEE only since last October, he had been with the EPA since its establishment in 1993, she said.
Mr Carty, a native of Ballinasloe, Co Galway, joined the EPA as a programme manager in the environmental and planning division. He was heavily involved in the introduction of licensing systems, in particular that of waste licensing.
In June last, Mr Carty was made a director of the EPA, followed by his appointment as OEE director.