Second Illegal Dump Found in Baltinglass

A second illegal dump has been discovered on the Whitestown site in Baltinglass. The dump is an extension to the one

How many are there?

discovered some months ago on the site owned by John O'Reilly, the man who claims that Wicklow Co. Council dumped a large percentage of the waste there.

The Council confirmed today that a dump with a substantial amount of illegal waste has been discovered but the authority was reluctant to discuss the matter further in view of future court proceedings.

However, the extension at Whitestown takes in an area of 250 metres by 120 metres and the waste may be dumped up to 20 feet deep. It is also estimated that the rubbish there may have been deposited on the site between 1997 and 1998.

Recently the owner of the site, Mr. O'Reilly claimed that the Council had dumped most of the material at Whitestown and he sent a bill for E1 million to the Co. Manager, Mr. Eddie Sheehy. The Manager has since described the invoice as a `red herring'.

Today, the Minister for the Environment, Mr. Noel Dempsey was lashed by local Fine Gael Deputy, Billy Timmins from Baltinglass who said that the Minister, having seen the site, has not allocated the necessary resources to the Council to clean up its act.