A TOTAL of £95,000 (£5,000 per house) is to be paid under the terms of settlement of a High Court action taken by 19 Limerick residents who complained about the use of a quarry as an unofficial dump.
The action was settled following extended talks between both sides in the High Court yesterday.
Mr Justice McCracken was told that rat infestation at the dump had led to similar infestation of a number of homes nearby in the 1980s.
Nineteen residents of Salvia Court, Keys Park, Limerick, sued Limerick County Council and the legal representative of the estate of the late Mr Christopher O'Doherty, owner of a quarry near Salvia Court, who died in 1980.
The residents submitted that, in addition to domestic refuse, animal carcasses and medical and veterinary waste products were dumped on the site. Various types of scrap was also dumped, it was claimed.
The residents also claimed there was a severe problem with flies, particularly during summer and that litter was blown on to their properties.
The settlement was announced by Mr Ralph Sutton SC, for the residents. He said the terms were set down in a document which he handed into court.
Under the settlement, the county council is to pay £5,000 per house involved in the claim. The lands are to be levelled and seeded, subject to supervision by engineers from both sides.
The legal representative of Mr O'Doherty's estate is to pay £22,500 to the council, subject to the consent of the Commissioner for Charitable Bequests and Donations.