The Industrial Development Authority could be facing a multi-million pound bill after a huge illegal dump was found on land it owns in Belcamp in north Dublin.
A report on the dump, commissioned by Dublin Corporation and seen by The Irish Times, says it is up to the purchasers of land to make their own inquiries about possible contamination before proceeding with the transaction.
The IDA spent over £6 million on purchasing the site from five landowners from 1997 onwards. The waste, which was dumped in the early 1980s, was discovered this summer when Dublin Corporation was laying the North Fringe sewer on the land.
The authority plans to use the land as an industrial estate. However, its value would have plummeted since the biohazardous waste was uncovered. In addition, the cost of cleaning up the site by removing the medical and other waste could prove greater than the amount originally paid for the site.
An IDA spokesman admitted last night that there was "no point" in buying polluted land. However, he insisted the authority would "pursue every possible avenue" to recover its costs from those responsible for the dumping. Under environmental protection legislation, fines of up to £10 million could be imposed, he said.
The site lies to the north of the old Belcamp Lane, near the M1. Before the IDA bought the land, it was owned by two local families.
In 1982, both landowners were approached by "an independent waste contractor" to use the depression formed by a stream-bed on the site as a landfill. The contractor began using the site in 1983 and "landfilling" is thought to have continued for two years, the report says. "It is not known if local authority permission was ever sought for this activity," the report states. It notes that local residents expressed concern that dangerous materials were being dumped. Residents say the local authority tried to stop the practice on the site on a number of occasions.
According to the report, Ireland lacks legislation for dealing with contaminated land. There isn't even a statutory definition of contamination in the legislation.
The report points out that the vendor of contaminated land is obliged to furnish the purchaser with any notice issued by, for example, the local authority. But apart from this obligation, the purchaser has to make his own inquiries and investigations before proceeding with the transaction.
Wicklow County Council has admitted it was made aware of an illegal dump in the county three years ago. A spokesman, Mr Liam Fitzpatrick, said the council repeatedly investigated the site, but dumping appeared to have continued without its knowledge.
Ms Emer Bailey told RT╔ Radio's Liveline she had repeatedly tried to inform the council about dumping at the site, on the road from Blessington to Baltinglass. Mr Fitzpatrick acknowledged that Ms Bailey, who lived nearby, had written to the council in January 1998, alerting it to the dumping. The council had contacted the landowner, who "assured us that all activity would cease".
