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Minister advised to end sand extraction

Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh  Pict: Mal McCann
Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh Pict: Mal McCann Boats dredging sand on Lough Neagh Pict: Mal McCann

ENVIRONMENT minister Mark H Durkan has rejected claims that he has failed to act on advice from senior officials to halt unauthorised extraction of sand from Lough Neagh.

A document sent by officials in the Department of Environment outlined the issues surrounding the unauthorised extraction of sand from the lough which is Ireland’s largest freshwater lake.

The senior officials warn the minister that "failure to act could be legally construed as giving ‘consent, permission or other authorisation’ and the department not taking action to halt operations could be construed as giving ‘consent, permission or other authorisation".

The memo was sent by the DoE’s chief planner Fiona McCandless and former Northern Ireland Environment Agency’s chief executive Terry A’Hearn to the minister and the department’s permanent secretary Leo O’Reilly in February.

Speaking last night however Mr Durkan said it was "disingenuous to allege" that he had ignored advice from officials.

The document reveals the DoE has been investigating unauthorised sand extraction since February 2013 when it emerged the firms involved have no planning permission.

The memo states an enforcement case was opened in February 2014 and "subsequent visits have evidenced working of sand from the lough".

A written request by Mr Durkan to companies involved in the extraction of sand to cease the practice have to date been ignored.

It is estimated that up to 1.2 million tonnes of sand are taken from the lough annually.

Green Party assembly member Stephen Agnew, who obtained the memo under the Freedom of Information Act, claimed there appeared to be an "unwillingness to stop the sand traders".

The assembly member urged the minister "to tackle illegal sand extraction as a matter of urgency" claiming further delays could be detrimental to “the life of the lough".

James Orr from Friends of the Earth also raised concerns and referred to a recent Criminal Justice Inspection report that concluded the DoE needs to improve its enforcement procedures.

"The report highlight the germane issues about the fact that the department cannot act as if the law is negotiable," he said.

Mr Durkan said he has asked officials to gather evidence and that process is ongoing.

"Any move to take formal enforcement action must be based on sufficient evidence which can be robustly defended if challenged at the Planning Appeals Commission or in the courts," he said.

"In the time since the request to cease operations was issued, officials have, under my instruction, been gathering evidence of the level required and I expect to be in a position to confirm how I will proceed in the next few days."