The EPA today announced that it is refusing an application by Roadstone Dublin Limited to construct a landfill to deal with the huge amount of illegally dumped waste on its land.

The EPA has issued instructions that the waste material currnetly onsite is to be “excavated, processed and dispatched off-site for safe disposal in authorised facilities”.

Politicians in County Wicklow have widely welcomed this decision. Minister Dick Roche, speaking from a UN meeting said : “I am delighted with this decision, which fully reflects the policy direction which I issued last May on the general issue of dealing with illegal waste activities. The message should now be clear to all… anyone whose lands are used for dumping will suffer the full costs of remediation and legal costs as well.” [Read more here]

Green Party Councillor Deirdre de Burca (Wicklow County Council) said that, “This is a great decision for the people of Blessington. Groups like Blessington Residents Against Dumps (BRAD) and the Blessington Forum are to be congratulated on the very active campaign they ran opposing the licensing of a legal dump on Roadstone’s land. There is no reason now why the Blessington Relief Road should not be fully completed and opened as soon as is possible”.

The Green Party councillor has also expressed some concern about the wording of the EPA decision, as she believes that it may result in much of the existing illegal waste being left on the site. “We want to see all the waste, including contaminated soil, removed from the site” she says. “Roadstone must completely remediate the site.”