Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes. A constituent, Mr. Patrick Fagan, brought this matter to my attention. He was involved in some of the consultative reforms with the DAA and to be fair, he has been raising this issue for many years. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, my concern is around the potential liability, or risk, that may arise from this. After Mr. Fagan raised these concerns with me, I was particularly concerned when I saw media coverage on the removal of soil from Dublin Airport. Obviously, that was a decision made by the DAA in consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, and Fingal County Council. The response from the Department outlines that this is an operational matter for the DAA but it does not address the concern and remit of this committee around the potential liability in terms of a breach of environmental standards and the cost that may accrue on this. While I accept that there is an element of difference between the Department's and the DAA's accountability to this committee, given that there is a public health element to this, including the impact on the water table and so on, I do not believe the Department's response is sufficient. We probably need to get more details from the DAA. That would be useful. The main focus of my concerns is around the element of financial risk to the Department. I suggest that we follow its advice with the DAA and, pending the content of that, we reserve the right to come back to the Department to follow up on the financial elements of that.