Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has called on Wicklow County Council to take immediate action to stop the ongoing illegal dumping at The Murrough in Wicklow Town and have the waste deposited there removed.
Deputy Brady said “Unfortunately the illegal dumping at The Murrough has been ongoing now over a considerable period of time. What appears to be a mixture of commercial and household rubbish is been brought to the scenic location in Wicklow Town and dumped, with most of it being burnt.”
“Wicklow County Council is aware of the issue; it has also been reported to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The dumping has been allowed to drag on too long and the Council must now take immediate actions to stop the dumping and have the area cleaned up.”
“The Murrough is not just a beautiful location that’s widely used by many; it’s also an environmentally important area. It is covered by National and European protection designations such as ‘Special Protection Area’, in 2018 it was designated a ‘Special Area of Conservation’, the area is also a proposed ‘National Heritage Area’ and ‘Flora Protection Order’. So the illegal dumping that’s ongoing there is destroying a valuable public amenity and an environmentally important area.”
Deputy Brady concluded “The perpetrators of this environmental vandalism must also be held to account and they must face the full riggers of the law. I would also ask people to be mindful of handing their rubbish over to people who knock on their door and offer to remove any waste they may have. These operators should be asked for a waste permit, otherwise it will more than likely end up at The Murrough and beautiful places like it.”
