Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Apparently, the perpetrators had to clean up their rubbish but that was only because they were forced to do so.

There is a real crisis in County Donegal. We had the incidence of Ferry's Refuse, which was extensively reported and which demonstrated the lack of power enjoyed by our courts and enforcement systems. "RTÉ Investigates" revealed there are tens of thousands of tonnes of illegal household waste dumped at a huge dump at a location in the hills in the Inishowen Peninsula and near Moville. If that was not bad enough, on Tuesday morning a constituent brought a recent report published by Village magazine to my attention. I warn Senators that I may cite its figures twice because they are so shocking. In 2011, the Sunday Life newspaper brought to the attention of Donegal County Council that up to 10 million tyres were buried in the hills above Carndonagh on the Inishowen Peninsula. It has been alleged that as many as 10 million tyres have been illegally buried in those hills by an operation from Derry working in conjunction with a landowner. Seven years later, Village magazine alleges that not only have the 10 million tyres not been removed but that as many as 6 million more tyres have been buried there subsequently, using a permit for land reclamation. I have talked about County Donegal but instances of dumping have occurred throughout western rural counties. In those counties, as one works one's way inland, there have been many instances of illegal waste being buried and each time, the perpetrators only get a slap on the wrist.

The Leader, who acts on behalf of the Government, must accept that the laws are not working. We have very good people who work as part of Tidy Towns groups. The volunteers work long hours to keep communities tidy, paint derelict buildings and so on. Schools proudly display their green flags and blue flags as part of an environmental scheme that teaches young people the value of the motto to reduce, reuse and recycle. Yet criminals or criminal gangs operate together throughout this country and make their fortunes while giving two fingers to the people. After lengthy prosecutions instigated by local authorities or the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, which are very technical difficult cases to bring to court, the perpetrators just get a slap on the wrist. The legal system is a disaster and has failed. I ask the Government to learn from the fantastic investigative work done by "RTÉ Investigates". I urge the Government to urgently review the laws and improve resources. I believe we need one agency to tackle the issue and that we should not leave it to local authorities. One agency should be made responsible for making sure that waste is properly disposed of. It also must ensure that those who are involved in criminality are sent to jail rather than given a slap on the wrist.