Minister of the environment for Northern Ireland Mark Durkan has queried the need for a public inquiry into waste crime, after the publication of an independent report in December 2013.
Mr Durkan expressed his doubts after the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion calling for a public inquiry into illegal waste disposal, following a BBC Spotlight investigation broadcast earlier this year.
Assembly members were keen to concentrate an investigation on the illegal waste site at Mobuoy near Derry, the focus of the BBC Spotlight programme, where 516,000 tonnes of waste had been buried in sand and gravel pits over a number of years.
Commenting on the motion on Tuesday (March 11), Cathal Boylan of Sinn Fin said: Given the extent of the dumping on this occasion, the cost to the public purse of cleaning up such sites and the environmental impact that such incidents could have, the programme’s findings are a wake-up call to us all.
It is now imperative that we grasp the opportunity to examine accurately what has happened, and that is why we are calling for a public inquiry into waste disposal practices in the north-west. That is what is required to restore public confidence; that is what is required to address the problem; and that is what is required to protect our environment properly.
He added: Given the number of complaints and the amount of correspondence, alarm bells should have been ringing, blue lights should have been flashing and action should have been taken as far back as 2007. A significant opportunity was missed to address the matter in 2007.
Mills Report
But, commenting on the call for an inquiry, Mr Durkan remained sceptical that such a review would add anything more to the Mills Report an independent report commissioned by previous environment minister Alex Attwood in June last year that looked into the nature of waste crime in Northern Ireland (see letsrecycle.com story).
The report, which was published less than three months ago, found that Northern Ireland was highly vulnerable to widespread organised waste crime, and that an overhaul of the Northern Ireland Envrionment Agency (NIEA) was needed to tackle toe the problem.
Speaking to the Assembly, Mr Durkan said that while he believed that neither Sinn Fin or any other political parties had expressed interest in waste crime while the Mills Report was under commission last year, he would respect their decision and carry out a deep inquiry that left no stone unturned.
Mr Durkan said: I have never tried to defend or deny the fact that systemic weaknesses within the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and DOE made it easy for these sophisticated, organised criminal gangs to operate polluting our countryside and ripping off ratepayers. I have taken positive actions to ensure that NIEA is better structured and equipped to combat these criminals.
I have expressed doubts that a Public Inquiry is essential. I feel that the resources required to run one would be much better employed tackling the problem itself. Im not sure how much further it will go than the Mills Report and the ongoing criminal investigation. However, everything I do is grounded in openness and transparency and I will not stand in the way of any action that might restore public confidence.
Register for free to comment