Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for allowing me to raise this important matter. We are about to discuss dumping in County Wicklow. There has been bizarre behaviour in the Chamber, with Deputies Perry, Burke, Stanton, Durkan, Coveney et al delaying the progress of the House and, in particular, with regard to the last question, deliberately attempting to prevent the Minister from dealing with a question about young children who are being denied their rights.
The discovery of a second illegal waste dump in County Wicklow containing hospital waste, bandages, swabs, dirty gloves, tubing from operations and hospital records is a scandal. Clearly, the people responsible are reckless. They have behaved in a way which shows no regard for public health or the laws of the land. It is time a serious example was made of the culprits in this case. The second dump which has just come to light – there may be further dumps – is in a sandy area on the banks of the River Slaney about eight miles up-river of the intake for the Carlow and Rathvilly water supply. The people who dumped hospital waste of unknown origin in this area could not care less about the health of the local people.
I am very pleased Wicklow County Council has indicated its determination to track down the culprits and bring them to justice. The council has been less than active in this regard over the past decade. I have called time and again for strong legal action to be taken against those people who have turned the garden of Ireland into the dumping ground of Dublin. Unfortunately, my calls to date have fallen on deaf ears. The council has been either inactive or ineffective. There has been a failure to prosecute offenders and get court decisions against them. It is time this problem was dealt with.
The seriousness of these two incidents and the fact that there are up to 200 other illegal dump sites in County Wicklow indicates that major full-scale criminal activity is involved. On behalf of my constituents, I call for the fullest possible criminal investigation into the matter. If neces sary, the council should be joined by the Environmental Protection Agency or should engage the services of private investigators or other legal services necessary to bring the issue to a head. Illegal dumping is very big business in which a huge amount of money changes hands. The volumes in this case are staggering. I ask that the Criminal Assets Bureau be formally involved in the investigation to examine whether the people involved have been paying their taxes or behaving outside the law.
In the past, a blind eye has been turned to people involved in illegal dumping. We should all be concerned when our environment is being despoiled by careless, reckless people. Illegal dumping must not only be stamped out, but those guilty of the activity must be brought to justice. Public examples must be made in this case. There must be people in the constituency who are aware of what is happening. I appeal to them to come forward to ensure the culprits are identified. I hope and expect there will be the fullest support for the public authorities. The people of Wicklow are rightly offended at the destruction and damage being done to the environment by a number of reckless, greedy people who have no regard for public health.
I call for a full criminal investigation involving the county council, the Criminal Assets Bureau and all available assets of the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure the people responsible for this are brought to book at the earliest possible date.
