Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 Feb 2003

Vol. 560 No. 3

Written Answers. - Illegal Dumping.

Liz McManus

Question:

118 Ms McManus asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he has received a briefing from Wicklow County Council on the extent of illegal dumping in the county; if it is intended to provide additional resources to the council to help it to cope with the problem, having regard to the extent of the illegal dumping; the steps which have been taken to ensure that there is no threat to either the local water supply or the Dublin water supply; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2400/03]

Bernard Allen

Question:

413 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the discussions and contacts his Department has had to date with Wicklow County Council regarding the illegal dumping sites in Wicklow; and if he has satisfied himself that the local authorities have adequate resources to eliminate illegal dumping. [2545/03]

Minister for the Environment and Local Government (Mr. Cullen)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 118 and 413 together.

From correspondence and routine liaison with Wicklow County Council, my Department is aware of the position regarding the council's ongoing investigations into unauthorised waste disposal activities. I have no direct function in relation to the enforcement of the Waste Management Act 1996. However, unauthorised dumping such as that which evidently has taken place is Wicklow is clearly a matter of concern and a number of measures have been or are being undertaken to support local authorities in combating such unacceptable activity.

In the first instance, and at the request of my predecessor, the Garda Commissioner assigned a large full-time investigation team from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, NBCI, to investigate allegations of criminality in connection with unauthorised waste disposal activity. While its initial focus has been unauthorised activities in County Wicklow, the ongoing NBCI investigations are not limited to any geographical area.

In the Protection of the Environment Bill 2003, which was published last week, I propose various amendments to the 1996 Act that will facilitate more effective and direct enforcement of that legislation. In particular, they will enable more expeditious legal proceedings to secure the cess ation of unauthorised activity and-or appropriate environmental remediation. I propose shortly to allocate resources from the environment fund directly to local authorities to enable them to improve their overall environmental enforcement efforts, with particular regard to unauthorised waste activity.

As regards the "polluter pays" principle, any person or concern that is responsible for unauthorised waste activity that causes or is likely to cause environmental pollution should be liable for the costs of investigations by relevant public authorities and of any environmental remediation required to be carried out. The 1996 Act provides a number of mechanisms to this end, including power under sections 57 and 58 to seek appropriate court orders. Wicklow County Council has already successfully utilised these powers in the first of the legal proceedings that it intends to undertake regarding unauthorised dumping in the county.

I am not aware of any suggestion that Wicklow County Council considers it is hampered in its ongoing investigations by constraints on financial resources. I am satisfied that the deployment of the various measures which I have mentioned, in addition to the resources already available to local authorities, is equipping local authorities appropriately in relation to their environmental enforcement functions.