Dublin Bay North Labour T.D. Seán Kenny, has warmly welcomed the instruction issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) instructing Dublin City Council to withdraw its Dumping At Sea application.

Mr Kenny said: "This application by Dublin City Council concerned the dumping of 824,000 tonnes of spoil in Dublin Bay approximately 3 km from the Baily at Howth, under the Dumping at Sea Acts 1996 to 2010. This massive amount of spoil will emanate from the tunnelling at the Ringsend Wastewater Treatment works extension due to commence in 2014.

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"The EPA has reviewed the application and has deemed that it should be withdrawn because some of the documentation regarding assessments and environmental impacts were not received in time to allow members of the public to make observations. These are vital aspects of the application and they should have been submitted on time.

"I also made observations regarding this Dumping At Sea application and in January, I called on the EPA to refuse a permit to Dublin City Council. Sub Aqua Clubs who use the amenity of Dublin Bay have raised the safety concerns of sportspeople as it would detrimentally affect the visibility and clarity of the water."

(CD/H)