Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 March 2012
181 Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will report on his decision announced on RTÉ news in November 2011 that he will meet the costs of remediating illegal dumps in County Wicklow; the funds he has committed to this; if any have already been deployed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17451/12]
View answer182 Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will respond to a claim in the High Court that his intervention in the matter of the payment for remediation of illegal dumps in County Wicklow would mean the abandonment of court proceedings related to responsibility for the remediation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17452/12]
View answer183 Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he intends to recoup the costs of remediation of illegal dumps in County Wicklow when the companies which might be liable are gone out of business.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17453/12]
View answer184 Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he has received correspondence from the Department of Social Protection in the past number of years requesting an investigation into the council’s handling of illegal dumping in County Wicklow and the way the remediation process was handled by the county council and for a full investigation into the matter; and the action he has taken regarding same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17454/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 181 to 184, inclusive, together.
The Whitestown site was cited in the European Court of Justice judgment in Case C 494/01 as an example of Ireland's failure to comply with the 1975 Waste Framework Directive. My Department, on behalf of the State, has been liaising with the European Commission to ensure that the requirements of the judgment are fully met. The Commission is concerned, as I am, to secure the urgent remediation of the site, a concern underlined by an additional letter of formal notice issued on 30 September 2010, which indicated that the Commission might refer the case back to the Court of Justice for financial penalties to be imposed against the Irish State for failure to comply with the judgement.
It is in these circumstances that my Department, in June 2011, requested Wicklow County Council to remediate the site, pursuant to its powers under section 56 of the Waste Management Act 1996. On foot of this, the Council, working with the EPA, has established a technical working group to oversee a programme of detailed investigation of the areas of illegal waste at the site. The purpose of this programme, which I understand is now complete, is to gain a greater understanding of the nature, character and distribution of the waste, and to assist in determining the requirements for the site's remediation. I understand that a procurement process for the remediation will be initiated by the Council later this year, with a view to work commencing in the Autumn. The cost of remediation will be dependent on the technical approach taken to remediation and on the outcome of the tendering process. The costs involved will be funded by the State, with Wicklow County Council seeking cost recovery through the Courts. As the matter is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, I do not propose to comment further.
As regards correspondence from the Department of Social Protection in the past number of years, I have asked my Department to examine the relevant files for such a request from that Department, and will revert to the Deputy with the results of this examination.
