GREENS CALL FOR FULL DISCLOSURE ON ILLEGAL ENNISKERRY DUMP

"The Sunday Business Post has already revealed that Land Registry searches would suggest that one of the owners of the land on which the illegal waste was found is a member of the Garda Siochana" said Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca. "If this is true, it is deeply worrying as members of the public put special trust in the Gardai to uphold the law. We must know the full truth of who was aware of the illegal dumping that occurred on the land and who profited from these activities".

The Green Party councillor has also posed a number of hard hitting questions to the officials of Wicklow County Council. "There is a danger that a certain amount of 'dump fatigue' develops amongst members of the public" says de Burca. "But it is important that we keep asking the important questions and demanding some accountability from the officials in regard to what has been going on in the county".

Councillor de Burca has asked senior council officials to indicate whether they were aware of illegal dumping activities occurring in Enniskerry over a period of time, and whether any of their own members of staff suspected that anything irregular was going on in the area with regard to the illegal disposal of waste.

"We need answers to these questions" says de Burca. "A culture of secrecy and silence only encourages these illegal activities to continue. Those who profit from illegal dumping are jeopardising the health of their neighbours and that of their local communities. Research studies that have been carried out indicate that, for example, there is a much higher incidence of birth deformities amongst children born within a radius of several miles around a dump" she says. "One can only imagine what the health and environmental effects of an unlined illegal dump would be, with a high probability that "run-off" from the dump would contaminate local groundwater sources. We cannot allow unscrupulous individuals to make huge and illegal profits at the expense of others in their community".

For further information please contact Deirdre de Burca on 086 8061450 or email deburca@wicklowgreens.org.