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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 13 May 1997

Vol. 479 No. 2

Written Answers. - Removal of Dredged Spoil.

Trevor Sargent

Ceist:

407 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for the Marine the reason for the delay in removing the dredged spoil from the marina area of Malahide, County Dublin; the plans and timescale, if any, for carrying out this work; and if the conditions of the licence will be complied with in order to ensure that shellfish breeding grounds are not damaged by the operation. [12945/97]

The developers, Malahide Marine Village Limited, applied for a permit under the Dumping at Sea Act, 1996 to dispose of dredged material associated with the marina development at a site some 35km east of Malahide inlet. Following assessment of extensive surveys of both the dredge spoil and the proposed dump site as provided for under the OSPAR Convention (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) guidelines, the Department's marine licence vetting committee was satisfied that the dumping operation would have no significant impact on the marine environment and permits were duly issued for the period up to 31 March 1997.

Due to bad weather and difficulties experienced with the dumping vessel which proved to be unsuitable for the journey to the dump site, the operation was not completed within this timescale and the operators applied to have the permits extended.

A new permit was recently granted to the developers and it is expected that disposal of the spoil heap will be completed by the end of next August. The delay in issuing this permit was due to the fact that the dumping vessel selected for the project lacked the necessary certification and required to be surveyed. The vessel has now been surveyed and the necessary certification has been supplied.
I assure the Deputy that the disposal operation will be closely monitored by Department engineers to ensure that permit conditions are complied with and that there will be no adverse impact on shellfish breeding grounds.
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