Recent warnings issued by the EU Environment Minister Margot Wallstrom to the Irish Government highlighted a number of breaches of, or non-implementation of, environmental legislation by the Government over the past number of years. 

In the area of waste management, the EU made clear that under existing legislation, Member States must ensure that the disposal and recovery of waste does not present a risk to the surrounding environment. Part of the written notice from the EU referred to the historical environmental management at the Fingal County Council landfill site at Dunsink in the west of the county.

While an incident of surface water contamination has occurred in the past in close proximity to the landfill at Dunsink, significant steps have been taken over the past number of years by Fingal County Council in co-operation with the Department of the Environment and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that this does not happen again and that the site is managed in an environmentally responsible way.

Fingal County Council applied for and were issued with a Waste Licence in January 2004 from the EPA for the closure and restoration of Dunsink Landfill.  Under this licence the County Council are required to install infrastructure to monitor and manage landfill gas and leachate emissions and to cap previously filled areas using inert materials.  The local authority is also required to carry out regular environmental monitoring and have already put in place a comprehensive quarterly water quality monitoring programme for surface water, groundwater and leachate.

In order to comply fully with the Waste Licence granted by the EPA, Fingal County Council are putting in place the relevant procedures, personnel and infrastructure to ensure that no environmental pollution occurs at the site or adjacent to it.  All monitoring results are submitted to the EPA along with a wide range of reports on the operation and management of the site as required by the Licence. 

Full details of the Licence for Dunsink are available from Fingal County Council or online at www.epa.ie/licensing/wastelicensing 

For further queries and information please contact:

Florence White, Environmental Awareness Officer

Fingal County Council, County Hall, Main St., Swords, Co. Dublin

Tel: 01-890 6768

Email: florence.white@fingalcoco.ie