SDLP Foyleside Councillor Mary Durkan has said that the wider Executive must address the impact of Mobuoy, the need for a public inquiry and the wider issues around policy and practice on illegal waste across the North and on a cross-border basis.
At last week’s meeting of Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environment & Regeneration Committee, upon agreement with other councillors, Miss Durkan proposed that the council should write to the Executive Office and relevant ministers to address these matters with due urgency given that the issue is cross-cutting.
Miss Durkan said: “Last month councillors attended an online meeting with DAERA Minister, Edwin Poots.
“It is clear that he is discarding the consistent calls for a public inquiry into Mobuoy, insisting that his focus is on remediation.
“Of course, the progress in remediation plans is very welcome.
“However, this progress should not negate the necessity of a public inquiry – a necessity recognised by all parties in the Assembly in March 2014 following the Mills Review.
“The terms of reference of any public inquiry on illegal waste should not be limited to the remit of a single department.
“This is not about pointing fingers at individual ministers.
“The responsibility for a remedial and strategic response, including a fact-finding inquiry, lies with the Executive as a whole.
“As well as DAERA, other departments implicated include Infrastructure, Justice, Health, Communities and Finance.
“The cross-border dimensions to illegal waste practice also warrant scrutiny by the North-South Ministerial Council.”
Miss Durkan concluded: “Remedial measures, assurances and strategic recommendations are crucial in avoiding repetition of illegal landfills like Mobuoy.
“Appropriate remediation and a full fact-finding exercise are not mutually exclusive.
“On the contrary, a public inquiry is necessary to properly inform recommendations to pre-empt and prevent further waste crime and irreversible damage to our environment.”
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