Clean-up of asbestos dump 30 years after protests to cost taxpayer €1m

THE taxpayer will foot a €1 million-plus bill to clean up a 30-year-old asbestos dump in Cork harbour.

The 1.4-hectare dump site at Barnahely in Ringaskiddy sparked a bitter environmental protest when it opened in 1978. It was shut down two years later.

The operation to remove almost 800 tonnes of hazardous material will start within two weeks and is expected to take about 10 weeks to complete. The material will be shipped to Germany for disposal.