John Gormley, Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has reiterated his commitment to dealing with the legacy issue of waste at the Haulbowline site.

This waste was deposited there over decades of operations at the site. The Minister also responded to the allegation that there was a cover up by his Department in relation to the Former Irish Ispat (Irish Steel) site at Haulbowline, Cork.

"Accusations of a cover up are entirely false. I was appalled to hear reports today through the media that officials of my Department have been accused of being involved in a cover up in relation to the former Irish Steel plant at Cork," said Minister Gormley.

"The source of these allegations seems to be a sub-contractor who was involved in surface clearance works on behalf of the main contractor, Hammond Lane. Following the inadvertent discovery of a sub-surface sludge pit of hazardous waste a series of unauthorised works were undertaken by the contractor as a consequence of the find.

"These unauthorised works potentially compromised the safety of the site and as result the contract for the surface works was terminated," he said.

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This surface clearance became necessary following the demolition and decontamination of the former Irish Steel/Ispat buildings to remove resultant debris from the surface only.

These works were carried out as an interim step pending a decision by the Government on the potential future use of the site and the consequent sub-surface remediation which would be required.

The Department under the direction of a Government decision, has been managing, on a care and maintenance basis, the former Irish Ispat (Irish Steel) facility at Haulbowline, Co. Cork, assisted by Cork County Council, since summer 2003. During that period the Department has coordinated all legal actions in relation to the site, carried out a comprehensive site investigation to determine the levels of contamination and remediation/development options at the site, set up ongoing environmental monitoring at established monitoring points, decontaminated and demolished the steelworks buildings and arranged for the site surface clearance contract. This site investigation was a necessarily preliminary one but did include sub-surface sampling.

It will of course be necessary to engage in a comprehensive risk assessment of the entire site once the Government has determined its future use to ensure that it is fully remediated for that purpose.

This process has now brought the site to a position where the Government can make an informed decision as to its future use.

"My principal concern is for the people of Cork Harbour and I want to reassure them that the Government is fully committed to transforming what is currently an environmental liability into an asset for the people of Cork. I hope to bring proposals to Government as soon as possible to assist with a determination as to the optimum future use of site," added Minister Gormley.

See: Cork Clean-up Halted By Environment Minister