asked the Minister for the Environment if there are any proposals before his Department to control the indiscriminate dumping of toxic and industrial wastes on land.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Industrial Waste Disposal.
24.
Any accumulation or deposit of waste which is a nuisance or injurious to health may be dealt with under the provisions of the Sanitary Services Acts relating to nuisance. Under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977, dumping which would cause polluting matter to enter waters is prohibited. In addition, the use of land for dumping of waste requires planning permission. I recognise, however, that special problems can arise in relation to certain wastes and my Department have accordingly requested local authorities to examine the situation in their areas. A review of existing statutory provisions has been undertaken by my Department with a view to deciding what additional provisions are required to enable local authorities to deal more effectively with waste collection and disposal problems including regulation of toxic and industrial waste disposal.
Is the Minister aware that a proposal has been before his Department for some time that the treatment and disposal of toxic waste should be dealt with by the Department on a national level and also on a regional level, and that it is inappropriate to expect individual local authorities to carry out this costly function?
I will have the pro— posal referred to by the Deputy examined without delay. It has arrived in my Department recently, has it?
Relatively recently. Is the Minister aware that at present there is indiscriminate dumping of toxic waste without planning permission by private firms to the detriment of the general public? This is an urgent matter requiring the attention of his Department.
On land they are required to have planning permission for this purpose, as the Deputy knows.
As the Minister knows, people sometimes carry out development without planning permission and sometimes get away with it for a long time.
This is a matter for the local planning authority, is it not?
It is a matter for the Appeals Board.
Could the Minister elaborate on what he meant by a request from his Department to the local authorities to examine the situation? Did he specify their terms of reference?
A review of existing statutory provisions has been undertaken by my Department with a view to deciding what additional provisions are required to enable local authorities to deal more effectively with these problems.
As I heard it, the Minister said in his reply that in addition to all this he recently asked the local authorities to examine the situation. Could he specify what he means by "to examine the situation"? Is he asking each local authority to report on the extent and nature of dumping of waste, or is he asking them to comment on their effectiveness in dealing with it?
In my reply I said:
Under the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977, dumping which would cause polluting matter to enter waters is prohibited. In addition, the use of land for dumping of waste requires planning permission. I recognise, however, that special problems can arise in relation to certain wastes and my Department have accordingly requested local authorities to examine the situation in their areas.