Waterford Dump

Sir, - I would like to add my protest to the siting of a superdump in the beautiful countryside of west Waterford, one of Ireland…

Sir, - I would like to add my protest to the siting of a superdump in the beautiful countryside of west Waterford, one of Ireland's best-kept secrets (The Irish Times, May 10th).

Knockanore is an idyllic, timeless spot, rich in history and archaeology, overlooking the Blackwater near Youghal. Hen harriers nest there and little egrets have decided to drop in. Waterford County Council in its wisdom is considering bringing 100 trucks of garbage 60 miles from Waterford city every day to dump them in this spot at the source of Youghal's water supply. Have our planners and politicians gone mad or is it a cynical ply to dump garbage on a community they consider too small to matter?

Knockanore never benefitted from the tiger economy. Agriculture and tourism are the only resources it has and the dump will do them no favours. Why should it be the recipient of rubbish it did not create? What tourist will travel from the big cities of Europe and America to visit the Blackwater Valley and admire its dump in the company of 100 garbage trucks?

Is there anyone out there who cares or are our irreplaceable landscapes and drinking water to be sacrificed to political expediency? - Yours, etc.,

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(Miss) Aine O'Neill, Convabeg, Ballyhooly, Mallow, Co Cork.