Poisonous liquid and gas leakages from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's landfill dump at Ballyogen, Co Dublin, are "life threatening" the High Court has been told.
Mr Dermot Flanagan, counsel for the local authority, told Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan that his clients were extremely concerned about the dangers to the health and safety of a Traveller family, including three children under the age of 10, which was illegally encamped on the dump.
Mr Flanagan said that if anybody was to attempt to light a fire, a combination of the fire and escaping gases could potentially cause a major explosion and a hazardous fire throughout the site.
He told the court the dump was subjected to ongoing remediation including gas collection. As part of the council's landfill management and recycling programme, gases emitted from the site were collected and used to generate electricity for the ESB.
Mr Flanagan said that although the site was operated in accordance with strict guidelines for the maintenance of health and safety standards there was still a serious threat to life and limb of anybody on the site. He said that despite repeated requests by the council the Traveller family had refused to leave the site.
Their continued presence posed a serious health hazard and potential risks arising from leachate gases and liquid emitted from the landfill. Mr Justice Finnegan granted an interim order directing that the family vacate the site forthwith.