Dumping row at Wicklow council

Some members of Wicklow County Council sought to have illegal dumps excluded from the council's current investigations, the official in charge of the investigation maintained yesterday.

Presenting the council's latest progress report on the number and extent of illegal landfills in the county, Mr Michael Nicholson accused some unnamed members of deliberately seeking to exclude certain landfills from the investigation.

Mr Nicholson also said there had been "lies, innuendoes, accusations, rumours and allegations" fed to "a hungry media".

And he said "the recent death in tragic circumstances of a council employee poignantly illustrates the possible consequences of such claims".

The reference was thought to be to the council overseer in West Wicklow, Mr John Mullins Snr, who was recently found dead at his home.

Mr Nicholson concluded that it was vital that any member of the county council who had information on the illegal dumps should give it to the gardaí rather than "drip feeding" it to the media.

Mr Nicholson's remarks prompted the Labour councillor from West Wicklow, Mr Tommy Cullen, to request a transcript of the remarks which, he said, he believed were libellous.

Mr Nicholson, and the council generally, however, were robustly defended by the county manager, Mr Eddie Sheehy.

Mr Sheehy said he was "not impressed" by councillors "who earn a significant income from this council and should show it some loyalty" but who referred to the council as if it was "some detached thing" by calling for independent investigations into the dumping crisis, while leaking to the media.

To a hushed council chamber Mr Sheehy added: "Hyprocrisy never impresses me."

Later Mr Sheehy referred to allegations on television and in Sunday newspaper reports that the council had itself made use of the illegal Whitestown dump near Baltinglass, as efforts by "stupid and gullible individuals to divert us from our course".

Mr Sheehy said they were members "of the board of directors" but those who saw their role "to hold the manager accountable" did not see the role the same way he did. He said the members "provide and shape the vision" for the organisation and as such owed loyalty and back-up to staff who had "been playing a blinder" in their investigative efforts.

While many councillors who spoke took issue with media coverage, which they felt was damaging to the reputation of Wicklow as the Garden County, Mr Sheehy said "we are not critical of the media" but he criticised members whose questions, he said, bore a striking resemblance to those submitted by journalists.

"I'll put it bluntly: Now is the time to put up or shut up. If you know something tell the gardaí; don't drip feed it to the media. We have nothing to hide," Mr Sheehy said.