asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has in relation to the dumping of untreated wastes and other toxins into Irish waters, including the sea, rivers and bays; when these will be implemented; his proposals in relation to Dublin Bay; whether the present proposals include any plan to deal with untreated wastes from the whole north city area; and whether he or his Department has written to the European authorities asking them not to fund consumer-inspired or consumer association organised studies in relation to this type of pollution.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Dumping of Untreated Wastes.
46.
Dumping at sea is controlled by the Minister for the Marine under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981 and is allowed only where this option is considered environmentally acceptable and is the only practical solution available for disposing of the material involved. I am advised that there is no authorised dumping of industrial wastes into the Irish Sea from sources in this State. The only dumping which occurs involves sewage sludge and dredged spoil from harbours and is subject to permits issued by the Minister for the Marine, which set conditions designed to avoid pollution. Industrial wastes are dumped at one location off the south coast in accordance with a permit issued by the Minister for the Marine.
The input of pollutants to rivers is controlled by the Local Government (Water Pollution) Act, 1977 under which all point discharges of trade effluents must be in accordance with the terms of a licence issued by the relevant local authority. These licences incorporate necessary safeguards designed to protect the receiving waters. As part of the Government's general programme to tackle water pollution, I have requested all local authorities to review existing licences and licence conditions where this is necessary, to ensure that pollution does not occur.
While local authority sewage discharges are exempted from the licensing requirements of the 1977 Act, local authorities may be prosecuted under the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 where such discharges cause pollution. Moreover, I intend that investment in the provision of new and improved sewage treatment facilities will continue at a high level.
As regards the situation in Dublin Bay, I hope to give a decision within a matter of weeks on proposals from Dún Laoghaire Corporation seeking approval of contract documents for a pipeline to transfer sewage which discharges off the west pier, Dún Laoghaire, to the Ringsend treatment works.
Survey work in connection with the preparation of a water quality management plan for Dublin Bay is continuing. This work is designed to build up scientific data on the condition of the bay and the effects of particular inputs and it is essential for the preparation of a plan to ensure that the bay is protected on a long-term basis. The plan will also provide the basis for an integrated approach to pollution control, including determination of the appropriate level of treatment for sewage discharges in the longer term.
Neither I nor the Department have asked the European Commission not to fund pollution studies by any group.
The Minister seems to place a great reliance on the fact that legislation and regulations exist which place specific obligations on local authorities but would he accept that these regulations are ignored to a very significant degree and that there is a great deal of illegal dumping? I ask the Minister to refer specifically to the part of the question which refers to the present proposals in relation to Dublin Bay and to indicate whether his plan will be able to deal with the problem of discharges from the north city area, or is it simply a plan for the south side of the city? Finally, can the Minister tell us whether he believes in principle that the discharge into water of untreated waste or sewage is wrong and repugnant from every point of view, environmentally and ecologically, and would he do everything possible to ensure that such discharges come to a halt? Already we have seen over the past couple of weeks a spate of spillages poisonings.
First of all, let me say that there is no illegal dumping in the Irish Sea.
How can the Minister say that?
There is dumping off the south coast under one licence granted by the Department of the Marine. I concede that there is dumping of dredged spoil from a number of harbours in the Irish Sea and there is some dumping of sewage sludge from Dublin Corporation's Ringsend treatment works. I am satisfied from the technical information available to me that the pumping of sewage from the south side of the city, from Coliemore, from the West Pier and from Bulloch Harbour across the bay to the Ringsend treatment plant will ease this problem considerably. I am also advised that there is excess capacity in the Ringsend plant. I have given approval to the new scheme and the documentation for the pipeline arrived in my Department last week. It is my intention to allow it go for tender in a few weeks to have this matter finally sorted out. I accept that discharging raw sewage into receiving water is not a satisfactory way of disposing of effluent and I am doing what I can with the available resources to deal with this problem. Over £200 million has been spent since 1983 on sewage treatment works around the country. There has been and will continue to be a high level of investment in such treatment works.
I want to deal with Deputy Quinn's priority question, Question No. 47, within the prescribed time.