8) Increase consistency and severity sentencing in environmental court cases of and the establishment of an environmental court.

In the short term coordination between the EPA and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions needs to be improved to ensure more polluters are indicted and brought to the higher courts to face serious justice to match their crimes.

The Green Party recommends that a set of 'Guidelines for Prosecutors' be established the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in conjunction with the EPA.

In the short term more judges capable of dealing with planning and environmental cases need to be appointed, however, in the longer term, what is required is the establishment of an Environmental Court. Finola McCarthy has set out the necessity for the establishment of a specialised environmental court as identified in the UK literature:

1. The need for improved understanding by judges of environmental issues
2. The need for consistency and coherence in decisions in environmental cases
3. The extent that technical and scientific evidence is a feature of environmental cases
4. The need to improve the interpretation and application of environmental law and policy
5. Difficulties with the judicial review process in environmental cases
6. Difficulties with access by third parties to environmental justice in light of the implementation of the Aarhus Convention

The Green Party believe that a review group with representatives from all the major stakeholders - Environmental NGOs, legal profession representative bodies, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the EPA/OEE and An Bord Pleanála - should consider the practicalities of establishing such a court. Such a move is not unprecedented in Ireland, we currently have an Employment Court and a commercial list in the High Court.