Politicians refused access to dump site

LABOUR politicians were yesterday refused access to the site of a large illegal dump in Wicklow. The site is owned by building group Roadstone.

A spokesperson for Roadstone said permission to visit the site was refused because they did not want to slow down the site investigation by Wicklow County Council that had their full co-operation.

The Labour delegation included TDs Eamon Gilmore, Liz McManus, MEP Proinsias De Rossa and a number of city councillors.

Roadstone had offered to fully brief the politicians in their boardroom in their Dublin office on the 600-acre site but this invitation was not taken up by the public representatives.

The spokesperson for Roadstone said they were co-operating fully with the Wicklow County Council’s inquiry but did not want it hampered or slowed down in any way by site visits by interested groups until they had the full picture.

The politicians also met a number of local residents who were concerned that the dump might pollute nearby water supplies.

Residents living in a nearby housing estate have been told by the local health board to boil their water before consumption.

Mr Gilmore, Labour’s environment spokesperson, said the illegal dump on the Roadstone quarry site near Blessington was alarming given its proximity to the Poulaphuca reservoir, which supplies water to Dublin.

Mr Gilmore said some residents have reported skin problems that might be associated with water pollution from illegal dumps.

A team of independent consultants monitoring the Roadstone site adjacent to Dillonsdown are satisfied that the dump has not polluted nearby water supplies.

“One of the concerns expressed to us by local people was the secretive nature of the Roadstone site investigation,” Mr Gilmore said.

He pointed out that a more open approach had been taken in relation to other illegal dumps in the area investigated by the council.

According to Wicklow County Council, the investigation to establish the size of the illegal dump could take weeks.

Mr Gilmore wants the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment and Local Government to hear evidence on illegal dumping in Co Wicklow.

He has written to the chairperson of the committee calling on him to allow the committee hear evidence from An Taisce, Wicklow County Council, Roadstone and the health board so that the matter can be discussed in detail.

“I fear that this problem has nationwide implications and will make the enforcement of the Waste Management Act 1996 extremely difficult,” he said.

Mr Gilmore also said that he felt it was unreasonable for Wicklow County Council to investigate illegal dumping exclusively from their own resources.

An Taisce’s president, Frank Corcoran, said they were insisting on the complete decontamination of the Roadstone quarry in Blessington.