Launching the Fianna Fail environment manifesto, Dempsey launched a blistering attack on the State agencies for not enforcing the laws and pledged to set up a new Office of Environmental Enforcement to police them.
"Enforcement has not been what it should be," Dempsey said. "Environmental legislation is not being strictly enforced. Local authorities are not implementing legislation as they should."
Presented with a list of 15 promises made in the 1997 Fianna Fail general election manifesto, Our Environment-Our Future, which were not implemented, Dempsey admitted that some had failed. He insisted that others were achieved.
Referring to criticism of the failure to act swiftly on the recommendations of the Fire Safety Review - including the setting up of a National Fire Authority - the minister said he would be bringing the proposals to Cabinet in a fortnight. "This is a report that I want to see implemented," he added.
Although the trend was towards better water quality, Dempsey said recent incidents - such as the drinking water contamination that left 10 people sick in Westmeath, and the cancellation of a major trout fishing event in the West for the first time because of the wipe-out of stocks from pollution - would continue until more progress was made.
The environment manifesto committed Fianna Fail to extending the ban on smokey coal.
The party would also draw up an inventory of the toxic substances known as Persistent Organic Pollutants and introduce an upgraded air quality monitoring system.
It promised to end to all discharges of untreated sewage into the sea from big cities and towns by the end of next year.
All group water schemes - almost 40pc of which are contaminated with potentially fatal e-coli - would have to meet the EU Drinking Water Directive by the end of 2003.
The policy also plans to extend the hugely successful levy on plastic bags to other areas such as plastic cups and containers.
Recent research showed the levy had reduced the number of plastic bags going out of shops by between 70pc-90pc.
The minister defended the controversial bin charges and said these were based on the "polluter pays" principle and there were ways of reducing the amount of rubbish being put out for collection each week.
However, Dempsey conceded the closure of the Ardagh glass bottle company would pose major difficulties in the recycling initiative.
The policy statement warned that a continuation of Ireland's "unsustainable lifestyles" would "spell disaster for future generations and a significant deterioration of our own quality of life".
The new Office of Environmental Enforcement would have power to direct a local authority and the EPA to take any action deemed necessary for compliance with environmental legislation.
The party also pledged to examine the current level of fines to ensure they are sufficient to pay for environmental restoration.
Source: Irish Independent
