'A carousel of continuously passing the buck'
More than 18 months after The Detail uncovered an environmental scandal, a Stormont department and local councils are still arguing over who should investigate potential fraud
The Detail revealed last year that false soil sample results had been submitted as part of more than 100 applications for farm sheds and biogas plants.
The fake samples were submitted in an attempt to bypass environmental legislation and gain planning approval.
But newly uncovered documents show that councils and the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) still cannot agree who is responsible for investigating any potential fraud.
James Orr, director of Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland, said he was dismayed by “a carousel of continuously passing the buck”.
It is impossible to think that councils are not responsible in this.
But if the councils are abdicating their legal responsibilities to investigate fraud, then in this shameful situation that has emerged, DfI has to exercise their role as an oversight body on the performance of councils. They can’t run for cover either.
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Awards for The Detail
Over the last few weeks, we’ve won two major awards for our journalism.
Journalist Luke Butterly won The AOP Award for Inspiring Local Journalism at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards in London for his investigation into race hate crimes.
And Luke’s investigation into an environmental scandal won a Justice Media Award in Dublin. The series of articles won praise from the judges for “excellent investigative reporting”.
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