Paddy McHugh
Ceist:698 Mr. McHugh asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to a survey which was recently carried out by an expert group in Trinity College Dublin in relation to birth defects in children born to mothers living near landfill sites; if his attention has been further drawn to the fact that the results of the survey show that, for instance, mothers living within 1.25 miles of a landfill were 2.5 times more likely to have a child with birth defects; if, in view of this, legislation or regulations will be introduced to put in place new exclusionary measures including a minimum distance of at least 2.5 km from the extremity of a landfill to the nearest dwelling house; if a stipulation will be incorporated into such legislation or regulations that landfill siting should not result in the compulsory relocation of householders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20390/02]