Hauliers to have records checked after city protest

Hauliers who took their protest against the closure of illegal dumps in Co Wicklow to Government Buildings in Dublin yesterday are to have their work records investigated by Wicklow County Council.

The hauliers, who claim the closure of the illegal dumps is threatening their livelihoods, were also rebuffed by the Department of the Environment and business representatives when the cavalcade arrived in Dublin yesterday.

About 60 trucks left Blessington in west Wicklow before daylight, travelling in convoy to Tallaght where they were stopped by garda∅. After negotiations, only 10 lorries were allowed to proceed to the city centre, causing widespread disruption on the quays and in the area around Government Buildings in Merrion Street.

They handed in a letter of protest for the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey. A spokesman for the Minister told The Irish Times the Government would make no concessions on the issue.

"In the light of the appalling finds of hazardous waste in Wicklow, the Minister has asked the councils to vigorously enforce the Waste Management Act, not to make concessions," said the spokesman.

Wicklow County Council's director of environmental services, Mr Michael Nicholson, was also critical of the truckers. He said registration numbers of the lorries had been taken.

Mr Nicholson said the council would be asking the drivers about their recent activities and would be ascertaining if prosecutions could be made. He said dumps required planning permission, a waste permit, and hauliers required collectors' permits. The council would not condone any illegal activity.

The Fine Gael local government spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, described the protests as "grossly disproportionate" and a "disgraceful form of demonstration". The hauliers were doing nothing to advance their cause "but will do much to further antagonise a public already scandalised by their practices". They could not seriously expect to advance their cause by pressurising the Minister for the Environment to sanction or condone the breaking of environmental laws. They should call off their protests.

The Small Firms Association also urged the hauliers to call off their protest. Mr Pat Delaney, SFA director, said "issues of public health are paramount and illegal dumping puts the entire health and environmental system at risk".

A Green Party councillor, Ms Deirdre de Burca, said she was horrified to learn the council intended to leave hospital waste discovered at Whitestown at the site.

She called on the council to observe waste management regulations which allow local authorities to recover any costs incurred from those responsible for the dumping. At council estimates of £300 a tonne to remove the 100,000 tonnes of waste to a safe site, the costs of remedial work on Whitestown would be £30 million (€38 million)