CORK COUNTY Council says it is not aware of any licences being issued to allow for the removal of waste material from the former Irish Ispat steel plant in Haulbowline for use in road construction.
A council spokesman said the council had taken control of the site for the Department of the Environment in 2005 and had not issued any licences for the removal of slag or any other waste material for use in road construction.
"There has been no such licence issued since 2005 when the council took over the site and we're checking our records prior to that to see if any licences were issued for the removal and use of waste material in road-building, but we're not aware of any such licence."
Cork County Council was responding to Cork South Central Labour TD Ciarán Lynch, who said it was his belief that the removal of such material for use in road construction took place between 1998 and 2002 and would have required a licence from the local authority.
He said there was concern about such material being used in road construction and the impact it could have on groundwater if toxic materials were leached down into groundwater courses.
Mr Lynch was speaking after calling on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to clarify whether tens of thousands of tonnes of potentially toxic material was removed from the site and used in road construction.
"I would also like to know whether that material was examined for toxicity and whether it was treated," Mr Lynch added.
"Minister Gormley should also identify the company that removed the materials and provide an indication as to where it may have ended up."
A Department of Environment spokesman told The Irish Times that the department took control of the site in 2003. It had no records regarding the removal of material since and it did not hold any records for the site before 2003.
The Irish Times
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