The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is being called to take on board recommendations from the Criminal Justice Inspectorate (CJI) report, after it revealed some failings about prosecutions.

Alliance Environment spokesperson, Anna Lo MLA, said taking tough action on environmental pollution by securing successful prosecutions can act as an effective deterrent to prevent others carrying out such actions.

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She said: "Unfortunately we have had some cases where there were too many delays in bringing charges against those responsible for breaches of environmental laws or even not seeking prosecutions at all.

"I have raised my concerns at the lack of enforcement officers within the Environment Crime Unit in NIEA to deal with frequent pollution incidents, with the cost of remedying such damage often running into thousands of pounds. I hope that the policy of the polluter paying the cost of such damage will continue."

(CD/JP)