Illegal dump on IDA land still not safe after 13 years
AN illegal dump containing hospital waste on a site owned by IDA Ireland has yet to be made environmentally safe, 13 years after it was discovered.
Contaminated material including syringes, surgical waste, bloody swabs, bed pans and patient records was discovered on the land in 2001.
The site - off the N32 in Clonshaugh, Dublin - had been earmarked for industrial development.
The IDA, which attracts foreign investment into the country, is now seeking to renew its permission to clear the dump.
In a statement, the IDA said it plans to clean up the site and confirmed "it has made an application to Final County Council to obtain an extension of planning permission previously granted to remediate the site".
It added: "IDA Ireland will re-focus its attention on implementing the development as permitted as the economy continues to improve.
"The development permitted in 2009 did not commence due to commercial and economic considerations, which substantially militated against either the commencement of development or the carrying out of substantial works."
Dublin Bay North TD Tommy Broughan said he is "gravely disappointed" the remediation has not been carried out "in a timely manner".
"While the current grant of permission expired on June 21, 2014, the presence of an illegal dump at the site was discovered as far back as mid-2001. Thirteen years later, the site is still unsafe," he said.
"I am again calling for this absolutely necessary work to be completed. I would strongly urge the planning department of Fingal County Council to make a necessary condition of the grant of extension of permission . . . that the necessary remediation works would be carried out by December 31, 2015, at the latest.
"This would allow an appropriate amount of time for the applicant to arrange for the works to be carried out."
During civil engineering works in 2001, a hazardous waste landfill was accidentally found on an IDA site.
An investigation revealed that, prior to the IDA buying the land, 40,000 tonnes of waste had been dumped on a 1.4-hectares tract.
comurphy@herald.ie