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Fuel Laundering

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 April 2014

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

Questions (452, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457)

Gerry Adams

Question:

452. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the estimated cost of cleaning up each illegal plant; and the total cost per annum for the cleaning up of illegal fuel laundering plants. [18015/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

453. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the current arrangements for the cost of clean-ups; the person who pays; and to whom they pay for the clean-up of fuel laundering plants. [18016/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

454. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of illegal fuel-sludge dumps that have been uncovered in the past five years; per annum; and by county. [18017/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

455. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the level of human and environmental damage and danger posed by fuel laundering plants and by illegal sludge dumps. [18018/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

456. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the amount that has been paid to clean up fuel sludge dumps per annum, per county. [18019/14]

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Gerry Adams

Question:

457. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if there are plans to change the process of paying for the clean-up of fuel laundering plants and diesel and fuel sludge. [18020/14]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 452 to 457, inclusive, together.

Enforcement in relation to illegal diesel laundering activities is primarily a matter for the Revenue Commissioners from the point of view of avoiding loss of revenue to the Exchequer. My Department assists local authorities in carrying out their role as competent authorities under waste legislation, which is to take the necessary measures, on behalf of the State, to ensure that any waste generated and left abandoned by the diesel launderers is disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment.

Approximately 900 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities to date and my Department has up to now reimbursed the costs associated with such disposal on a case by case basis. The majority of the clean-up operations have taken place in Louth and Monaghan with 490 and 406 sites respectively. Further diesel laundering facilities have been identified in Counties Cavan, Donegal, Offaly, Meath and Waterford. Details of the amount provided by my Department since 2008 on a per county basis is set out in the table below.

This is a significant expenditure borne at present by the Environment Fund. My Department, as part of on-going cooperation with the Northern Ireland authorities on repatriation of illegally deposited waste in Northern Ireland, has held recent discussions with Northern Ireland on the need to develop a mechanism for dealing with waste from cross-Border diesel washings which would be factored into the overall discussions on waste repatriation. These discussions are ongoing.

The illegal deposition of the waste material arising from diesel laundering activities presents the local authorities with major difficulties as the task of cleaning up the material needs to be dealt with to avoid threats to the environment. The laundering process requires the use of chemicals such as sulphuric acid and bleaching agents and results in a waste by-product, a tar-like chemical compound or sludge, with the potential for environmental pollution, particularly in relation to watercourses.

I believe that a complete solution to this problem must necessarily involve effective and co-ordinated enforcement of the law from both a revenue and waste management perspective. In that context, my Department continues to liaise with representatives of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the local authorities concerned and the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement to seek to identify more effective enforcement solutions and these engagements will continue.

Year

Louth County Council

Monaghan County Council

Offaly County Council

Cavan County Council

Donegal County Council

Total

2008

€448,460

€109,615

€558,075

2009

€314,678

€45,632

€360,310

2010

€246,211

€28,414

€29,270

€303,895

2011

€939,315

€89,588

€1,028,903

2012

€1,452,267

€347,350

€23,458

€1,823,075

2013

€693,048

€150,946

€40,753

€884,747

Total

€4,093,979

€771,545

€29,270

€23,458

€40,753

€4,959,005

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