Taxpayer faces up to €6m bill to clear illegal dump in Co Meath

The taxpayer is facing a bill of between €3.6 million to €6 million to clean up two illegal dumps on a Co Meath farm, Trim Circuit Court heard on Tuesday.

Over 70,000 tonnes of waste, including asbestos, was dumped on the farm over a three year period up to October 2014.

Fred Hendy (53), from Ballynakill, Rathcor, Enfield, Co Meath, pleaded guilty to handling, treating or transferring waste in a manner likely to cause pollution at Ballynakill, Enfield between January 2011 and October 2014.

Meath County Council environmental engineer Declan Grimes told the court 51 companies were involved in bringing waste to two dumps on the 267 acre farm owned by the defendant’s mother, Eileen, and run by Mr Hendy.

Mr Grimes told prosecuting counsel Carl Hanahoe BL the defendant had lodged an invalid application in 2004 for a waste permit to the council but did not proceed with the application.

The engineer said that following complaints of trucks entering the land in November 2012 he visited the farm and saw a mound of plastic, concrete blocks and timber dumped on a former pond with more rubbish, including demolition and other waste, dumped 400m away on another site close to a stream running into the Blackwater river.

Mr Grimes told the court he made a further visit to the farm and Hendy claimed he was receiving €20 per load for the waste, which was being used to fill in low lying land. He said he was assured by the defendant that no asbestos or hazardous waste was being dumped there.

However, the engineer added that on further visits he noticed the dumping had continued and included hazardous asbestos waste on the former pond site, while contaminated liquid was flowing from the larger site into the stream.

The council served a notice on the defendant in March 2012 to stop importing waste onto the farm. Diaries seized from his home showed that 51 operators had been involved in dumping on the farm, paying between €20 and €100 per load, the court heard.

Tests found methane and carbon dioxide emitting from the site on an ongoing basis.

Mr Grimes told the court the taxpayer would ultimately have to foot the bill for the remediation of the site at an estimated cost of €3.5million to €6million.

Judge Martina Baxter adjourned the case and remanded the defendant in custody overnight.