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 diesel launderers is disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment. Over 1,000 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities to date and my Department has reimbursed the costs associated with such disposal in every instance. Details of the amount provided by my Department for the period 2016-2018 are set out in the following table.
|
Year
|
Louth County Council
|
Monaghan County Council
|
Total
|
|
2016
|
€922,518
|
€98,044
|
€1,020,562
|
|
2017
|
€174,906
|
€49,307
|
€224,213
|
|
2018
|
€92,839
|
€0
|
€92,839
|
In April 2015, the UK and Ireland both introduced a new fuel marker, and there has been a significant decline in the number of incidents and tonnages of fuel laundered waste arising as a consequence. However a complete solution to this problem must necessarily involve continued effective and co-ordinated enforcement of the law from both a revenue and a waste management perspective. In that context, my Department is represented on the Cross Border Fuel Laundering Group and continues to liaise with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the local authorities, and the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities to seek to identify more effective enforcement solutions and these engagements will continue.
