Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

There is considerable concern and people need to have the facts in order to answer the questions for themselves. That would be an important first step for us.

Last week the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Máire Hoctor, referred to a comprehensive site survey carried out by White Young Green. Its content seems to be quite extensive. I cannot understand why the company is on site again to look for chromium 6. People are asking whether this did not arise originally and whether the first site survey was not fully comprehensive. Given the recent concerns, what was done in 2005? The Minister stated the new survey is in response to the work being carried out by the subcontractor but the type of waste would not have changed because, as he said, it had been accumulating for over 60 years under Irish Ispat, which was formerly known as Irish Steel.

The issues associated with the subcontractor comprise a side issue to many people; the main issue comprises the waste deposited on the site and the need for the Minister to provide information and reassure people he is fully committed to dealing with it. I accept he is committed personally but we need the Government as a whole to be committed. There ought to be enough funding made available in the budget to carry out the required clean-up on the site. I understand the tide is washing through boreholes and that the run-off and leachate from the site are being washed into the harbour. Capping the site seems fruitless if the tidal elements affect the boreholes.

What kind of survey was carried out in 2005 such that it did not indicate the levels of waste that have now been made known to the public? If we had the results of the survey, perhaps we could answer that question. The Minister stated another site survey is being carried out at present. This will result in further questions and I call on the Minister to ask an independent body to examine the results. This will enable people to formulate answers to worrying questions. The Minister stated in the media last week that he is happy there is no threat to public health in the harbour area. We need the relevant information to be satisfied on that question.

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