Controversial Wicklow dump sold

The Whitestown dump near Baltinglass - where an estimated 300,000 tonnes of illegally dumped rubbish, including hospital waste, was discovered two years ago - has been sold, according to Wicklow County Council.

The sale was announced to members of Wicklow County Council by the manager, Mr Eddie Sheehy. He said he had met the new owners, who indicated that they intend to remedy the property. Mr Sheehy named the new owners as Mr and Mrs Ray Stokes.

No purchase price for the former quarry has been disclosed. Attempts to contact Mr Stokes yesterday were not successful.

Following his meeting with Mr Stokes, Mr Sheehy said he was amending the council's High Court action. While there was absolutely no suggestion of wrongdoing on the Stokes' part, any owner of the land would have to be enjoined in the action.

Wicklow County Council's action against the former owner, Mr John O'Reilly, which is at an advanced stage, is to continue.

Following the manager's comments, there was speculation among councillors as to the benefit of the site to any future owner.

Most members felt, however, that should the site be safe for the waste already there, with the benefit of an EPA licence a case could be made that it would then be a "safe" dump and would be entitled to an EPA licence.

The illegal Whitestown dump was, according to council estimates, an extremely profitable operation. Mr Sheehy has previously quoted the example of the "gate fee" for accepting a 20-tonne load of hospital waste for deep burial in Fingal County Council's facility. It was about £2,400 in 2001, while the gate fee for an illegal dump was £90.

Against this the costs of dealing with hazardous waste, including excavating and rehabilitating the soil and the likely cost of sending the contaminated waste abroad for incineration, are high and in many cases could be a multiple of the value of the land.

Following the discovery of the illegal dump on the land, Mr O'Reilly maintained the council itself had used his dump and he sent it a bill for €1 million. Mr O'Reilly subsequently withdrew his allegations and said he had been coerced into making them by a third party.

Because of the large amounts of money involved, the then Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, asked the Criminal Assets Bureau to investigate the operation of known illegal dumps in December 2001. The garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation is also investigating the operation of the dumps.

A garda spokesman said last night that the Criminal Assets Bureau had "no interest" in the sale of Whitestown.