Roadstone will not be prosecuted over the discovery on its lands in west Wicklow of one of the largest illegal dumps uncovered in Ireland to date.
The Irish Times has learned that the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided not to bring charges against the company, which has always denied any knowledge of the dumping on the site.
It is believed the decision not to prosecute was taken in October and was based on legal advice relating to case law in England regarding corporate responsibility.
News of the decision not to prosecute comes amid recent criticism of the company by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, who suggested that Roadstone should be prosecuted over the dump at Blessington, which is in the Minister's home constituency of Wicklow.
The decision followed a three-year investigation by members of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) in relation to the illegal dumpings at Dillonstown on a site of nearly 700 acres owned by Roadstone, a subsidiary of Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH).
Nearly 60,000 tonnes of domestic, commercial and hazardous waste were found in various parts of the site, along with a further 50,000 tonnes of construction and demolition waste.
The waste was deposited over a 10-year period up to 2001, when the dump was discovered by waste-enforcement staff from Wicklow County Council that September.
The NBCI was then appointed to investigate the site and worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency and Wicklow County Council on the inquiry.
A file on the investigation, which was one of five into different illegal sites in the county, was sent to the DPP earlier this year. Two individuals are currently before the courts in relation to the Roadstone site.
Last night a spokesman for Mr Roche said the Minister could not comment on any decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
However, on Wednesday he told the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment he believed that the owners of illegal dump sites should have been aware of the illegal activity and should be held accountable.
Yesterday a spokesman for Roadstone declined to comment on the decision by the DPP.
In relation to recent comments criticising the company for failing to prevent the illegal dumping, the spokesman said that the company "regrets that unauthorised dumping took place on its Blessington lands".
"While some have questioned how this could have taken place without the company being aware, the fact is that Roadstone had no knowledge of the unauthorised dumping and did not benefit from it in any way.
"What should be borne in mind is that this is an extensive landholding crossed by several public rights of way, generating considerable traffic movement daily. The estimate volume of waste discovered would have accounted for much less than 1 per cent of these movements."
The company "fully accepts its responsibilities to remediate the waste and will do so in full compliance and co-operation with the regulatory authorities".
Recently it has paid the €500,000 costs of the original investigation by Wicklow County Council and has put forward proposals to remediate the site by removing hazardous and recyclable material but landfilling the rest in a one-off landfill on the site.
The proposals are being vehemently opposed by locals who want all of the waste removed from the site.