The Environmental Protection Agency has said it intends to ask the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Revenue Commissioners to try to recoup earnings of people who receive criminal convictions for illegal dumping.
Senior officials said the Office for Environmental Enforcement (OEE) was stepping up its enforcement activities and was targeting illegal dumping in particular.
They also rejected criticisms that the current enforcement regime was too lax, and said they were tackling weaknesses in enforcing waste legislation.
Those convicted on indictment in the Circuit Court of illegal dumping face jail terms of up to 10 years and fines of up to €15 million, although the EPA has yet to take a successful criminal prosecution.
It has secured over 100 convictions for environmental law breaches, but at District Court level, where the fines are much lower.
Mr Dara Lynott, director of the OEE, said the initial focus of the agency was to improve environmental standards through licensing of facilities.
It was now concentrating on enforcement, and hoped to secure criminal convictions in the future.
He said that, since the OEE's establishment last year, there had been a 30 per cent increase in the number of District Court prosecutions for breaches of waste and pollution licences, with 20 further prosecutions pending.
It conducted 2,000 inspections of licensed facilities, issued 550 notices of non-compliance and took 21 District Court prosecutions.
Other enforcement efforts included the establishment of an enforcement network involving local authorities around the country, who are responsible for enforcing most environmental laws.
Mr Lynott said the focus of the office would be on illegal dumping, especially cross-Border waste smuggling.
A special cross-Border taskforce, involving the EPA, local authorities in the Republic, gardaí from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Northern Ireland's Environment and Heritage Service and the Police Service of Northern Ireland was targeting illegal cross-Border waste operators.
Mr Matt Crowe, programme manager with the OEE, said the "simple message we'd like to get is that there is a collective effort".
He said the OEE was confident of securing criminal convictions in the future against individuals involved in illegal dumping and would ask the Criminal Assets Bureau and the Revenue Commissioners to target the earnings of anybody with a criminal conviction for illegal dumping.
Mr Lynott said that District Court prosecutions, which could be taken directly by the EPA, could also "be a very good outcome". While a Circuit Court prosecution was a lengthy process, District Court actions could prevent ongoing environmental pollution as they could be taken almost immediately.
The OEE has also commissioned a major report into the nature and extent of illegal waste activity. "This investigation is already yielding valuable information," Mr Lynott said.
A review of powers used for investigating and prosecuting illegal waste activity was also being undertaken and changes to waste regulations to streamline enforcement activities are also expected.