Seanad debates
Wednesday, 3 December 2003
Adjournment Matters. - Environmental Pollution.
10:30 am
Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter for the Adjournment and the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for his attendance.
I request that the Minister establish an inquiry into what happened in Derrybrien and its consequences. It is an environmental disaster for the area in terms of water pollution and the enormous fish kill which occurred. Many of the planning conditions laid down as a requirement before any development would take place, initially by Galway County Council and on appeal by An Bord Pleanála, have gone unheeded. It is unprecedented that development would start on a site without adherence to the pre-planning conditions.
What will it mean if we are to follow the same pattern with similar situations in the future? The development charges being imposed at local authority level now on every individual house will be collected. I seek an urgent inquiry into why in this instance, the bond demanded, or the combination of alternatives to the bond which amounted, as suggested by Galway County Council, to €100,000, was not adhered to by the developers on this site. No Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government can allow that go unquestioned. I ask the Minister of State to ensure the developers adhere to that bond so that the people of Derrybrien can see that some agency will take responsibility.
Excavation on the eastern half of the site was discontinued as the jelly like movement of the ground under the weight of the machine rendered further digging unsafe. Excavation on the western half of the site was attempted but the area was covered in dense ranks of fir trees which made it impossible for the machine to reach the testing sites. The work was abandoned altogether.
That report goes back as far as June 2002. That simple paragraph by way of assessment of the site was never noted. The developers who ignored it were negligent in the extreme. The consultants appointed in the recent past by both Galway County Council and Hibernian Wind Energy are about to report. The reports will not satisfy the people of Derrybrien and Gort. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government should not be satisfied with what has happened.
As the relevant local authority, Galway County Council faces expenses in excess of €100,000 to repair the damage done to local roads, the environment and a river. It had to augment the water supply at Gort at short notice. Nobody has indicated how the council will be reimbursed. I want the Minister of State to indicate who will reimburse the council for the work it carried out on site. I compliment the local area engineers and the other Galway County Council personnel, who worked so hard when nobody else would help. The developers walked away from the site for 14 days after the mud slide on 16 October. They returned when somebody pointed out their responsibilities to them, but they have not yet accepted that they may have been responsible for what happened.
I ask the Minister of State to establish an inquiry into all aspects of this matter. Who will pay Galway County Council? Who will carry out the remedial action that is necessary to rehabilitate the fish life in the River Owendalulleegh and in Lough Cutra? Who will guarantee the safety of the Gort water supply on an ongoing basis? Who will take responsibility for the safety of the people of Derrybrien? I do not think the Minister of State can answer these questions. If I am right, he should accede to my request, on behalf of the people of Derrybrien, for an inquiry into the matters outlined.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Ulick Burke for raising this issue. The Local Government (Water Pollution) Acts and related legislation designate local authorities as the water pollution control authorities. The control authority in this case is Galway County Council. Under the legislation, the Environmental Protection Agency acts in a general supervisory role. I have made inquiries about the matter. I will outline the circumstances in the wake of the Derrybrien mud slide incidents, as I understand them.
Galway County Council has served a section 23 notice on the ESB, Hibernian Wind Farms, Gort Wind Farms and Ascot Contractors under the Local Government (Water Pollution) (Amendment) Act 1990. The council is seeking full information on the Derrybrien incident. The section 23 provisions empower local authorities to serve notice in writing on certain persons, requiring them to give full information in respect of activities or practices that may have led to a water pollution incident. It is not appropriate for the council to seek formally to determine the cause of the mud slide, to ascertain liability or to impose requirements on liable parties for rehabilitation work on the river until it has received the information demanded under the section 23 notices. The council has spent almost €100,000 on River Owendalulleegh remedial work so far. The river has been diverted in the area affected by the mud slide to reduce the amount of silt reaching Lough Cutra. The water quality in the lake is improving, but further heavy rainfall could lead to another build-up of silt.
The Environmental Protection Agency has assisted the council by giving it advice and by monitoring the water quality of Lough Cutra. The agency monitored the River Owendalulleegh two weeks ago. The results of water samples monitored for their chemistry were more or less normal. An ecological assessment of the lake, under the requirements of the water framework directive, was undertaken before the mud slide. Further monitoring, which will take place in the spring or summer of next year, will prove useful as an accurate comparison. I understand that biological life has been seriously compromised at the top part of the River Owendalulleegh, but biological life further down the river appears to have survived relatively well. Most of the loose peat went onto the flood plain and the lake and the main river channel is more or less as normal. The EPA hopes that trout spawning will not be impaired and that intervention will not be required to restock the river with trout.
The issue of costs appropriate to be borne by Galway County Council will be dealt with by the council in the context of its annual budgetary process. General purpose allocations in excess of €626 million were made available to local authorities from the local government fund in 2003. General purpose grants to local authorities from the fund have increased by about 85% since the Government came to office in 1997.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Galway County Council's allocation from the fund in 2003 was €25,037,960. This represents an increase of approximately 92% over the 1997 allocation and an average increase of over 15% in each of the past six years. The recently published Abridged Estimates Volume indicates that €1.118 billion will be available to the local government fund in 2004. This represents an increase of approximately €38 million on the amount available to the fund this year. The Senator will be aware that today's budget provides for a further addition of €30 million to the local government fund. Revised buoyancy projections should also permit increased provision for local authority funding in 2004. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government intends to notify local authorities of their 2004 general purpose grant allocations shortly. I repeat that it is not appropriate for Galway County Council to determine formally the cause of the mud slide until it has received the information it has demanded under the section 23 notices.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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We will know more about that when the council acquires information from bodies such as the ESB, Hibernian Wind Farms, Gort Wind Farms and Ascot Contractors on the basis of the section 23 notices. Full information is being sought. We hope that all the information will be made available and a further decision will be made on that basis.
Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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The Senator has had his opportunity to speak.
Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is important to clarify that conditions relating to bonds are a matter for the local authority.