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[Press Release: May 3rd, 2005] Greens question whether new regulations on illegal dumping will apply to dumps already discoveredFollowing today's announcement by Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, of new regulations for the remediation of illlegal dumps, Green Party councillor in Wicklow, Deirdre de Burca has called on the Minister to clarify whether these regulations will apply to illegal dumps that have already been discovered and investigated.The Green Party councillor claims that unless the new regulations can be applied retrospectively, they will have little impact on the network of substantial illegal dumps discovered in Co Wicklow over the past four years.She argues that one of the biggest illegal dumps discovered is on Cement Roadstone's land at Blessington in West Wicklow. "Minister Roche had given his endorsement to a Section 55 Agreement between Wicklow County Council and Roadstone which effectively amounts to a sweetheart deal" says de Burca. "This deal will allow Cement Roadstone to develop a purpose-built landfill, with a capacity of 300,000 tonnes, on its site at Blessington, without having to go through the planning process. This is a matter of considerable concern to people in the area who cannot understand how the Minister could endorse an arrangment that deprives them of their right to object to the proposed landfill through the planning process". The Green councilllor claims that she finds it difficult to reconcile the new punitive approach to illegal dumping promised within the Minister's new regulations with his tolerance of "what can only be described as a very generous and potentially profitable arrangement for Cement Roadstone on whose land approximately 100,000 tonnes of illegal waste have been found". De Burca has also questioned whether the new regulations will provide for independent monitoring by the Office for Environmental Enforcement of the investigation of illegal dumps where the local authority has been involved in some of the illegal dumping. "We have a situation in Whitestown near Baltinglass in West Wicklow where over 300,000 tonnes of illegally-dumped waste was discovered" says de Burca. "The landowner in question sent an invoice for 1 million euros to the council in 2001, arguing that the council had been illegally dumping on his land over the years. While he subsequently withdrew his allegations, it is my information that the new owners of the site, Brownfield Restoration Ltd, have approached Wicklow County Council seeking to have up to 10 million euros paid in compensation for the waste that the council has allegedly dumped on the site in the past. It is of concern given these allegations that Wicklow County Council has been responsible both for conducting the investigation into illegal dumping on the site and for pursuing prosecutions of those responsible". The Green Party councillor has called for the new regulations to ensure that the Office of Environmental Enforcement has a responsibility for monitoring and overseeing the conduct of investigations into illegal dumps by local authorities.
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