RTÉ Investigates reveals 30
unauthorised quarries in Donegal
27.11.19
RTÉ Investigates has
found over 150 quarries across the country are
unauthorised out of 1,100 active quarries in
Ireland.
RTÉ Investigates also reveals how some of the
biggest customers of these unauthorised sites are
the very enforcement agencies whose role it is to
police Ireland's quarries. Over the past six months
RTÉ Investigates has looked at quarries across the
country including Donegal.
Ireland viewed from the air, the country boasts many
world renowned areas of natural beauty, however
another recurring feature of the landscape that is
not so attractive is the increasing impact of
quarries.
Watch RTÉ Investigates - Between a
Rock and a Hard Place - tonight, Wednesday November
27, at 9.35pm on RTÉ One.
Tonight's RTÉ
Investigates - Between a Rock and a Hard Place
programme looks at how some operators are able to
challenge the system of regulation for quarries,
blasting without planning permission, and digging
into the landscape of rural Ireland, sparking angry
protests.
Permission for quarries is given or refused on a
number of grounds including how much environmental
damage they're likely to cause. But RTÉ Investigates
has found that the system is full of loopholes,
delays and grey areas. Resulting in Ireland's
environment - the air we breathe, the wildlife
around us, our water, trees and grass - being put at
risk.
The programme shows how even when a quarry is deemed
to be unauthorised and has been served with
enforcement notices it doesn’t mean they can’t
continue operating. The findings of a nationwide
survey of local authorities carried out by RTÉ
Investigates shows that 151 quarries are deemed to
be unauthorised developments.
The counties with the most unauthorised quarries
were:
Donegal with 30
Kerry with 26
Cork with 19
Waterford with 17
Galway with 12
Beside the town of
Lifford, straddling the Donegal / Derry border is an
island on the River Foyle estuary – Islandmore. It
is surrounded by a river and wildlife habitat
protected by law as a special area of conservation
in both jurisdictions.
The owner of Islandmore was refused planning
permission 19 years ago for a quarry but he
continued quarrying. He was later served with an
injunction, restraining him from quarrying there. In
2014, he lost an appeal to An Bord Pleanála. Even
though there’s still no authorisation for quarrying,
RTÉ Investigates has filmed a dredging crew
excavating at various points along the river. A
machine with a large boom dredges the river bed in
2019.
RTÉ reporter Barry O'Kelly speaks to the owner at
the site on tonight's programme. He has sought both
a judicial review of the court injunction taken out
against him by Donegal County Council and a decision
by An Bord Pleanala to refuse him planning
permission and while those cases have yet to be
heard, quarrying here continues.
A Donegal Council report noted there is a "potential
risk of contamination of groundwater" arising from
this dredging. While Dr Pat Moran, an ecologist
said: "They are operating in a Natura 2000 site
which is protected by domestic and European
legislation. So that is going to be impacting on a
lot of the flora and fauna. Its got no planning
permission, there Is no monitoring, there is no
mitigation measures."
Watch RTÉ Investigates - Between a Rock and a Hard
Place - tonight, Wednesday November 27, at 9.35pm on
RTÉ One.
