Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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1461. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the annual cost related to the clean up and restoration process due to fuel laundering - extracting the green dye from diesel - due to the environmental consequences and waste pollution related to the extraction process in each of the years 2011 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41024/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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Over 1,000 incidents of diesel laundering waste dumping have been dealt with by local authorities to date. My Department has provided funding of €5.5 million to local authorities for the substantial costs associated with such disposal over the period 2011-2015. The overwhelming majority of the clean-up operations have taken place in the border counties of Louth and Monaghan.

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.

Details of the amounts provided by my Department for the period 2011 to 2015, on a per county basis are set out in the table below:

In April 2015, the UK and Ireland both introduced a new fuel marker, and there has been a significant decline in the number of incidents and tonnages of fuel laundered waste arising as a consequence. A complete solution to this problem must necessarily involve continued effective and co-ordinated enforcement of the law from both a revenue and a waste management perspective. In that context, my Department continues to liaise with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the local authorities, and the Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authorities to seek to identify more effective enforcement solutions and these engagements will continue.