The Irish Concrete Federation (ICF) yesterday called on the Department of the Environment and local authorities to close down illegal quarries and concrete plants because of the "untold damage" they were doing to the environment.
ICF president Declan McCartney told its agm in Kildare that many illegal operators were taking advantage of the planning regulations' quarry registration process to register illegal developments that had gone unchallenged.
He said it was extremely disappointing to witness the emergence of even more unauthorised quarry operators who seemed to be operating with impunity, and were making no monetary contribution to the running of local authorities.
"The mechanisms are there to deal with them under Section 8 of the 2000 Planning Act, which clearly sets out the penalties involved, including . . . fines of up to approximately €12 million and ultimately the imposition of prison sentences."
He said there were serious inconsistencies in the interpretation and implementation of the legislation within local authority planning departments.
"Unlicensed operators are doing immense damage to the legitimate aggregate and concrete industry through their illegal activities," Mr McCartney said. This was putting legitimate operators at an unfair disadvantage because of all the costs involved in compliance.
On the issue of the acquisition of reserves, he warned that the natural resources available to the construction industry were at their lowest level for 25 years. Yet Ireland was the only EU country with no policy to protect such raw materials.
The Irish concrete and aggregates industry employs 13,000 people and is valued at more than €2 billion.