asked the Minister for the Environment whether his attention has been drawn to a report (details supplied) that Sligo County Council paid £100,000 in 1980 for a quarry dumping-site which had been sold for £9,000 in 1978 to the vendor; and whether, in view of the dependence of local authorities on funds raised for the Exchequer, he will investigate the history of this transaction.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Sligo County Council Dumping Site.
14.
The report has been brought to my notice. I understand that while the local authority has an option to purchase the site in question, it has not yet done so. My involvement as Minister would arise only in the event of the local authority seeking approval to raise a loan to meet the acquisition costs. I understand, however, that Sligo County Council has, in fact, been setting funds aside over a period of ten years for the purchase of a suitable waste disposal facility and will not be requiring any loan for the acquisition.
I am informed that the site in question would meet the county's waste disposal requirements for an estimated 30 years and the reported acquisition cost might be considered in this context and in the light of the difficulty of acquiring suitable sites for such purposes.
I do not wish to debate the matter with the Minister of State but in view of the fact that he or the Minister provide the greater bulk of the money at the disposal of county councils, would he not pursue with them the question of whether this site might have been acquired for far less money if they had acted a little earlier? It is an extraordinary situation that a site which changed hands for a few thousand pounds a few years ago will now cost £100,000 of which this House will have to vote the greater part. Will the Minister not require Sligo County Council to give him a full account of why apparent opportunities were missed in the past? It will now cost the people we represent and not just those in Sligo an extra £95,000.
Acquiring sites for waste disposal is a major problem all over the country particularly in big urban areas. Sligo County Council have been endeavouring to acquire a site for some time. They looked at a number of sites but did not find any suitable apart from this one. It is not a question of them dragging their heels. The economics of it is a matter for the county council. They have set aside money out of their account over the years for this. They discussed this and agreed it is a proposition they should go ahead with. That is the decision of the democratically elected council.
Will the Minister write to the council and put it to them delicately that if they had been looking for a site for a long time they might have bought this one as recently as 1978 for a tiny fraction of what we now have to pay for it? That is what I would like the Minister to probe. If we probed these things instead of talking in large terms about macro this and macro that we would save a lot more money.
There is no problem about delicately approaching the council. We have spoken about local government reform and now when something occurs we want to poke our nose in. Of course I can take the matter up with them. This is the money being sought for the site. There is a major problem about where they can dispose of waste. It poses a serious problem all over the country. In Dublin there is hardly any site on which we can dispose of industrial waste which is causing serious concern to industry. We have to allow county councils to look after their affairs. I can ask the council why they did not look at this site three or four years ago. They have not yet purchased the site. The option is open to them until the end of March. My information is that they do not have much of an option because it is the only site available to them.
Can the Minister say if as a result of the court case an obligation is laid on the county council regarding the purchase of this site and if the council have discharged that obligation?
A court case was brought and an injunction was sought to prevent tipping. The court did not accede to the request. The county council have agreed to do hydrological tests on the site. When they are completed they will send the tests to the plaintiff's solicitors.
It has not been done yet?
No.