Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 328: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will confirm and name the 20 sites that have been identified in the north of Ireland that contain around 250,000 tonnes of waste illegally transported from the south of Ireland. [16819/10]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 329: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide a copy of the framework agreement which paves the way for work to begin on putting in place contractual arrangements to remove the waste illegally dumped in the 20 sites. [16820/10]

Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide a timescale for the removal of waste at Patrick's Road, Ballymartin, County Down. [16821/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 328 to 330, inclusive, together.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) estimates that up to 250,000 tonnes of municipal and commercial waste from Ireland was illegally deposited at 20 sites in Northern Ireland between October 2002 and the end of 2004. As there are legal proceedings involved, NIEA are not releasing specific details of the sites concerned.

A framework agreement between both jurisdictions was endorsed by Environment Ministers in June 2009. The framework itself derives from a 'road map' in relation to co-operation in dealing with illegal waste movements, which was endorsed by both jurisdictions in October 2007 and by the European Commission. Under the Framework Agreement the full cost of disposal, or other necessary management of the waste, will be met by Ireland but the costs of excavating, examining and removing the waste and remediating the site afterwards will be apportioned on the basis of 80% Ireland, 20% Northern Ireland. I have arranged for copies of both the road map and the agreement to be sent to the Deputy.

The agreement relates in the first instance to the removal of illegally dumped waste at two priority sites, at Slattinagh, Co Fermanagh and near Trillick, Co Tyrone, involving 14,000 tonnes of waste. The approach followed in these cases will form the basis for action on the remaining 18 sites. The NIEA will prioritise the order in which these sites will be dealt with, based on a number of factors including the risk of environmental pollution. I understand that a site in Ballymartin, Co. Down will be the next site to be dealt with, in 2011, following the two sites referred to above.