Burying Haulbowline waste ‘is best’

The marine minister has insisted that burying certain waste material dumped on the Haulbowline environmental disaster site in Cork Harbour is the best environmental option as part of a €40m clean-up of the island.

Simon Coveney, whose department is due to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency this week for a licence to operate the former Irish Steel/Irish Ispat site as a landfill, also warned that digging out the site could cause more environmental damage.

The proposed solution is the “optimum environmental solution”, he said.