John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

A complaint was received from the European Commission in May 2009, through the EU pilot pre-infringement process, concerning the regulatory status of the former Irish ISPAT site at Haulbowline. Ireland wrote to the Commission in October 2009 setting out the current position. A response from the Commission is still awaited under this process.

Ireland's response to the additional letter of formal notice relating to the 2005 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in case C-494/01 is being formulated and will be forwarded to the Commission in the two months provided for under article 260(2) of the EU treaty. While this letter references the former Irish ISPAT site on the issue of a valid waste authorisation, this site did not form part of the original judgment.

Consideration of the regulatory requirements relevant to the site falls within the terms of reference of the Office of Public Works-led working group established by the Government to develop a structured and coherent approach to the site's further management and development. The future use of the site will influence the levels and extent of further works and remediation required, as well as helping to clarify the further regulatory requirements which may fall to be met. The Environmental Protection Agency has been in contact with the Office of Public Works on the regulatory requirements applicable to the site.

It is important to recognise the State has spent approximately €50 million on remediation work on Haulbowline including on investigations, surveys, site works and waste disposal. The bulk of this expenditure was incurred since 2007.

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