A Dublin waste company has found that a small part of hospital refuse dumped in Co Wicklow may have been disposed of by a driver employed by a subcontractor.
Swalcliffe Ltd, trading as Dublin Waste Removal, said a thorough inquiry was launched after the illegal dump of hospital waste was discovered. Results appeared to indicate that a driver, employed by a firm subcontracted to Swalcliffe, may have been responsible for a small part of the dumped materials.
"The driver has been dismissed. Prior to recent press coverage, the company was completely unaware of the existence of this site and has never sanctioned its use. Indeed, the company was purposely misled in relation to the disposal of the material," it stated.
The waste was found at a two-acre site in the Glen of Imaal, five miles from Donard. It included domestic hospital waste such as body fluid bags, bloody bandages and swabs, tubing from operations, discarded rubber gloves and syringes, but it is understood no clinical medical material was found.
Quoted in the company's statement was Mr Louis Moriarty, managing director, who said the inquiry's findings came as a great shock to the firm, its employees and all those associated with the organisation.
"On behalf of the company I would like to apologise to the Blackrock Clinic, the Mater (hospital), and local residents. The company does not provide services to St Vincent's. As an industry leader we will work with all of the relevant bodies to ensure that this sort of event never happens again," he said.
He believed the speed with which the company responded to events demonstrated its lack of tolerance of poor standards.
Swalcliffe had a distinguished history of over 30 years in the industry and employed over 50 people. The organisation complied fully with all licensing and regulatory requirements and would co-operate fully with any effort to improve standards, he said.
Mr Moriarty welcomed moves to ensure that hauliers would have special licences from November 15th. This would ensure that this did not happen again, he said.
"We will work with Wicklow County Council to ensure that the site is cleared as speedily and safely as possible. As an indication of our commitment to the environment, particularly in this area, we will be making a donation of £5,000 to the local community. Our discussions with Wicklow County Council are ongoing," he said.
A spokesman for the council said there would be a normal monthly meeting today and waste would be on the agenda. He was sure members would be interested to hear that the statement had been made. A statement from the council could be expected tomorrow.
A spokesman for the University Hospital of St Vincent's said no hospital on the St Vincent's campus had been involved. "We were happy to co-operate with Wicklow County Council in bringing the matter to this stage."
He said three hospitals were asked to attend meetings to inquire into the matter, and St Vincent's had been asked as some headed letters had been found at the dump.