SDLP South Antrim MLA Thomas Burns has this month revealed that only one person has been jailed for water pollution offences in Northern Ireland in the past five years, despite more than 11,000 pollution incidents and over £2m spent on investigations. However, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), which is responsible for protecting waterways said its record holds up well beside the independent Environmental Protection Agencies in the rest of the UK and pointed out that it is the judiciary that rules on fines and sentencing.
Nevertheless, Mr Burns said, "It cannot be denied that these shockingly high figures point to a scant disregard for the health of our public waterways. Destruction of our rivers and lakes should not be tolerated. Tough action is required and what type of message does it send out to offenders when there has only been one prison sentence. We have to take environmental crime seriously."
An NIEA spokesman retorted, "In cases where it is decided that a prosecution is appropriate, NIEA staff collect the necessary evidence and prepare a file which is submitted to the Public Prosecution Service with a recommendation for prosecution. However, not resting on its laurels, the NIEA has made several representations to the judiciary on the level of fines or sentencing and plans to highlight the seriousness and impact of pollution incidents to the Lord Chief Justice's Office at a future meeting."
The spokesman added, "We will continue to vigorously gather evidence and recommend prosecution where it is appropriate to do so. Recent successes in court, including fines of £6,000 and £5,000 for water pollution offences, including one for an incident in Mallusk, are clear examples of this."
