Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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228. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the cost of cleaning up the countryside as a direct result of diesel laundering and dumping of the waste in local authorities areas, particularly in each border counties, for each of the past three years; the action taken to curb same; the numbers prosecuted; the result of increased cooperation between State agencies north and south of the border to fight this crime; when the new marker resistant to all known fuel laundering will be introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38511/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Enforcement in relation to illegal diesel laundering activities is primarily a matter for the Revenue Commissioners from the point of view of avoiding loss of revenue to the Exchequer. My Department assists local authorities in carrying out their role as competent auth orities under waste legislation , which involves the taking of necessary measures, on behalf of the State, to ensure that any waste generated and left abandoned by diesel launderers is disposed of without endangering human health and without harming the environment.

The illegal deposition of the waste material arising from diesel laundering activities presents the local authorities with major difficulties as the task of cleaning up the material needs to be dealt with to avoid threats to the environment. The laundering process requires the use of chemicals such as sulphuric acid and bleaching agents and results in a waste by-product, a tar-like chemical compound or sludge, with the potential for environmental pollution, particularly in relation to watercourses.

Approximately 900 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities to date and my Department has up to now reimbursed the costs associated with such disposal on a case by case basis. The majority of the clean-up operations have taken place in Louth and Monaghan, with 490 and 406 sites respectively. Further diesel laundering facilities have been identified in Counties Cavan, Donegal, Offaly, Meath and Waterford.

Details of the amount s provided by my Department since 2008 on a per county basis areset out in the table below.