Mr. John McCarthy:

I assure the Deputy the Department is not at all happy that we find ourselves having to support the local authorities in this way to deal with the waste because it ends up having to be transported abroad to be dealt with in hazardous waste facilities. We have been raising this issue and engaging on it at a political level through the North-South Ministerial Council. There is very strong co-operation between the various enforcement authorities north and south of the Border. It is clear that there is serious criminality is involved, in which circumstances enforcement action can be more difficult. In terms of our capacity to recover costs, such facilities have been found on both sides of the Border. Waste has been found on both sides of the Border.