Sir, - Your edition of February 1st reports that the Garda Commissioner has ordered a full-scale criminal inquiry into illegal dumping throughout the State. Apparently, the initial focus of the investigation will be the illegal dumps found in Co Wicklow over the past few months.
This was certainly a welcome announcement for those of us who have repeatedly called on the Minister of the Environment to dedicate the considerable resources at his disposal to a full and independent investigation of illegal dumping in Wicklow. The Minister was quick to take credit for the announcement, and your report says that he described this decision as "an indication of the Government's determination to enforce waste legislation".
Please excuse my cynicism, but I believe that Noel Dempsey's belated decision to set up this much-needed inquiry had far more to do with the recent visit of the EU Environmental Commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, to Dublin, than with any commitment by the Irish Government to properly implementing waste legislation.
Ireland is currently being investigated for 17 cases of infringement of the EU's Waste Directive. Surely this is a more accurate reflection of the Government's commitment to implementing waste legislation - and therefore protecting public health and the environment - than any windy rhetoric from the Minister?
At present there are more than 100 instances of legal warnings issued by the European Commission against Ireland for breach of EU Environmental Directives. The taxpayer will eventually bear the cost of the huge fines that will be imposed if these legal actions prove successful, as well as having to live with unacceptable levels of environmental degradation. Surely this amounts to a national scandal? - Yours, etc.,
Cllr DEIRDRE de BURCA, Greystones, Co Wicklow.