Dumping ground: part 3 The European Commission has expressed concern about Ireland's illegal waste dumping record.
While the Government and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say the problem is being tackled comprehensively, the Commission disagrees.
It has launched an investigation into the export of recycling material to Hong Kong and India, the latest in a string of complaints about Ireland's waste management record.
The Department of the Environment believes that illegal operators are already feeling the squeeze, and face a bleak future in terms of increased enforcement.
A spokesman points to the EPA's new environmental policing authority, the Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE), which was established under legislation designed to clamp down on breaches of environmental law.
The Protection of the Environment Act also provides for increased penalties for those convicted of illegal waste activity, including fines of up to €15 million and jail terms of up to 10 years.
This year the Department has made available grants of €7 million to local authorities around the country for enforcement measures, the first time specific funding has been provided.
As a result many local authorities are now recruiting additional enforcement staff.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said the fund "provides sufficient resources to be able to have a uniform presence on the ground".
Dr Matt Crowe, the programme manager of the Office for Environmental Enforcement, is also confident of the office's ability to clamp down on illegal activity.
The office is commissioning a major study to establish the level and extent of illegal waste activity in Ireland.
It is also establishing an enforcement network among local authorities, which Dr Crowe says will "ramp up" enforcement activity among local authorities, which have responsibility for policing most waste management activity.
It will provide a consistency in enforcement that has not been there before, Dr Crowe believes."We readily acknowledge there's been insufficient enforcement of environmental law by local authorities in the past."
The OEE can also take legal action under the new enforcement legislation to impose heavy fines on councils which fail to police illegal waste activity adequately, Dr Crowe added.
"If necessary we'll be using these powers to ensure that local authorities do use the powers available to them."
The OEE is itself investigating illegal waste activities, including a major investigation into the movement of waste for illegal dumping in Northern Ireland and Britain.
The National Bureau of Criminal Investigation is expected to investigate illegal movements on the southern side of the Border.
"The illegal operators are being targeted and with time we will improve the level of enforcement," according to Dr Crowe.
However, the European Commission does not share the optimism of the Irish authorities.
While welcoming the Office for Environmental Enforcement and the increased legislation, a spokesman for the Commission's environment directorate questioned the efficacy of enforcement in the past, despite steep penalties and jail terms if a case is brought before the Circuit Court.
He pointed out that the vast majority of prosecutions for illegal waste activity continue to be taken at District Court level, where the fine for each offence has been a maximum of €1,900, compared with profits of up to €5,000 for each load of waste disposed of illegally.
He said the European Commission continues to receive "a steady flow of complaints of breaches of waste legislation".
It has taken a case against Ireland over the proper enforcement of waste legislation, which is currently before the European Court of Justice.
Series concluded