Many quarry operators throughout the country have been able to circumvent planning laws and challenge the system of regulation through judicial review applications in the High Court but are still able to continue excavation and blasting without planning permission, a meeting of Meath County Council heard yesterday (Tuesday).
Aontu Cllr Emer Toibin said that a recent investigation had shown that there were 151 quarries operating throughout the country without planning approval. This folowed a survey of all local authorities and she said this showed that the problem was not just confined to Meath.
The councillor said that many councils across the country were customers of these quarries as they needed to purchase large quantities of stone for construction projects. However, appeals in the courts by quarry owners could take years to resolve and their activities could continue in the meantime much to the annoyance of residents who had to put up with unauthorised activity on their doorsteps.
Cllr Toibin said that Meath County Council was trying to address his unusual and questionable situation where developers were permitted to carry on with their unauthorised development by simply challenging it in the courts. The developers should be put under court injunctions until any such challenge was determined, she said.
The meeting was told that the county council had had to get government assistance of e6 million in order to clear up one site in the county where unauthorised dumping of waste had occurred.
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