James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for that positive answer and acknowledge that €23.5 million is quite a significant sum. I know that is not all for Kerdiffstown but is for general landfill remediation. The €3.4 million and extra €2 million that the Minister has committed to this year amounts to a total of €5.4 million, if I have that right.

It is worth taking a moment to reflect on the issue of Kerdiffstown landfill. This has been a long battle. The Minister probably recalls me raising it on numerous occasions during the previous Dáil with the then Ministers and at the Joint Committee for Communications, Climate Action and Environment on which the Minister and I sat. It is a good news story that started off as a very bad news story. I am sure the Minister and the House are familiar with the background. This landfill reached national attention when smoke and fumes were blooming out across the N7. That was the nadir of the whole debacle and various unauthorised developments and activities were going on at the site. It went up in smoke and the place went on fire with all sorts of toxic substances within it. That shone a negative light on the landfill.

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