Systematic illegal dumping revealed in north Dublin

Systematic illegal dumping in Rolestown, Co Dublin is being investigated by Fingal County Council. The move follows the discovery of tens of tonnes of what appears to be builders' waste around a number of derelict houses at Church Road in the rural village.

Locals say a number of houses on Church Road were bought when land was rezoned for housing development prior to the economic crash.

On one site, which has not been the subject of illegal dumping, roads were put in, the land was laid out and some building was undertaken before the site was fenced off.

However, in a number of other sites along Church Road, detached homes were boarded up, leaving driveways and extensive gardens vulnerable to illegal dumping or fly-tipping.

In a number of cases, the tipping is clearly systematic as there are several distinct piles of rubble, which are more than a metre deep in parts.

Dumped material seen by The Irish Times includes a collection of old couches and mattresses, beds, broken tables, chairs and other furniture, a large amount of broken bathroom fittings and used kitchen appliances and aluminium window frames.

One house has been stripped of lead and copper pipes, while windows, where exposed, have been smashed.

In a house along the road, waste PVC and aluminium material have been pushed through a broken window while a backyard is strewn with mattresses and other waste furniture. Bags of small electrical appliances are also strewn around the drive.

Occupied homes

The derelict houses along Church Road are not all together, but are on separate plots, sometimes with occupied homes sitting between them. Locals say the unoccupied houses have been derelict for several years and systematically targeted by rogue waste collectors.

One resident who asked not to be named said the derelict houses were supposed to be demolished to make way for substantial redevelopment, in tandem with significant rezoning in the area.

However, he said the homes were now being used for dumping and for anti-social behaviour. One of the houses was even used for a kidnappers’ hide-out a few years ago, he said.

Local councillor Anne Devitt, who is based in Rolestown, visited the site and said she was shocked by what she saw. Ms Devitt said she was reluctant to get out of her car for fear of rodents.

“This is private property I am not sure what the council can do, because obviously they could be trespassing,” she said.

The councillor said she believed one reason the site had not not been redeveloped was that the current density, which she said was 2½ houses to an acre, was too low. Builders would be faced with the same costs for roads and lighting as they would for a site where they could get 15 houses to an acre, so it was not viable to redevelop, she said.

A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said that, while the responsibility to keep lands free from refuse rested with the land owners, the council’s environment section would investigate the dumping.

An EPA spokeswoman said officers of the local authority had powers of entry under the Waste Management Act where they believe there was a risk of environmental pollution.

The Waste Management Act also provides for prosecutions of the land owner as well as unauthorised collectors and those who allowed the unauthorised collectors to take their waste away.