Cork County Council refuses to reveal cost of €50m Bottlehill landfill that never opened

Councillors say the mothballed Bottlehill landfill is draining millions from local services while Cork County Council refuses to disclose full costs

The landfill at Bottlehill, 20km north of Cork City and close to the main Cork-Limerick road, was supposed to open in 2009. File Picture: Eddie O'Hare

Cork County Council has repeatedly refused to say how much it has spent to date on the upkeep of a "white elephant" superdump that has cost nearly €50m to develop, and which has never seen one bag of refuse buried at it.

Some county councillors are now demanding that local authority bosses offload the facility and cut its losses. They say the council could use any money it gets for selling it off or leasing it to finance some badly needed services and give some money back to the taxpayer.

The landfill at Bottlehill, 20km north of Cork City and close to the main Cork-Limerick road, was supposed to open in 2009. However, it was mothballed because the then county manager said it shouldn’t be opened as the council couldn’t compete with the charges other local authority controlled landfills in Munster were offering.

The Irish Examiner asked the council how much taxpayers’ money has been spent on maintaining the site in the 16 years since then. That included queries about breakdowns on annual interest repayments it provided to banks for loans it got for developing the facility.

In addition, the council was asked about additional payments for maintenance, security and other ancillary costs at the site and has received no reply since January 13.

It was revealed by Michael Hegarty, the Fine Gael leader on the council, that in 2024 alone, the local authority spent €1.9m in bank loan repayments and a further €400,000 on security at the site.

Both he and fellow Fine Gael councillor Anthony Barry are calling on council bosses to remove the financial millstone from the local authority’s neck.

Mr Hegarty said taxpayers have the right to know exactly how much has been spent to date on the overall project.

“We should now cut our losses and get the hell out of it,” he added.

Mr Barry said it is "absolutely ridiculous" that the local authority is still pumping money into it.

“It is a huge drain on the council’s resources. We’re often in the council chamber fighting over €100,000 here and there for public amenities, and yet we are still spending a huge amount of money on the Bottlehill site.

"We have to wash our hands of it now. We need to get expressions of interest for the site and then get out of it."