John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Irish ISPAT applied for and was granted an integrated pollution control licence by the EPA. However, the company went into liquidation before the conditions in the licence could be met. The liquidator applied to the High Court seeking to disclaim the integrated pollution control licence. Judgment occurred on 29 July 2004 and found the licence was granted after the company had ceased production of steel and the conditions of the licence could not be applied retrospectively. A lacuna, therefore, arose and the resolution of this must involve a determination as to the future use of the site and, accordingly, the appropriate regulatory arrangements that should apply to it.

The Office of Public Works-led group is examining how to deal with the site. It very much depends on the future use of the site. The level of remediation will be determined by whether the site will be used for commercial or residential purposes or returned to parkland.

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