Cork County Council yesterday welcomed a judge's decision to impose a €100,000 fine on a company which was convicted of illegally dumping 100,000 tonnes of waste in a special conservation site in east Cork.
Mr Louis Duffy, Cork County Council's senior engineer in its environment directorate, said Judge Patrick Moran's imposition of the fine on Aggregate Supplies and Transport Ltd (AST) was an important decision which would deter others from illegal dumping.
"We certainly welcome the fine. The case was dealt by way of indictment, and the fact that Judge Moran imposed a €100,000 fine indicates the seriousness with which the court viewed the case, and we hope it will deter others from engaging in such illegal activity," Mr Duffy said.
AST's secretary, Mr Louis O'Regan, pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to disposing of or undertaking the recovery of waste without an appropriate licence at a site at Weir Island, Barryscourt, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, on December 17th, 2003.
AST, of Grianan House, Tramore Road, Cork, also pleaded guilty to a second charge of holding, recovering or disposing of waste in a manner that caused or was likely to cause pollution at the same site at Weir Island, Barryscourt, on the same date.
Cork County Council's environmental officer, Mr Toddy Cuthbert, said the materials unearthed during work on the Cork main drainage scheme consisted of builders' rubble, soil, subsoil, plastics and timbers.
He said the company was originally using this material to fill in an old quarry, but the dumping also impacted on 5,000 to 6,000 square metres designated for special conservation on the foreshore of the site, which is east of Fota.
Judge Moran said: "This was no small enterprise to bring 100,000 tonnes of waste on to the site.
"The defendant company had a total disregard for the requirements of waste-management legislation. In full sight of everyone it showed total disregard.
"They did subsequently apply for a waste-management licence. It was rejected. The Waste Management Act of 1996 allows for a very, very considerable penalty."
He added: "This is an area of conservation. It is an area I happened to visit myself. I was in the area on Saturday. Fota Park is one of the major recreational areas for the city."