It is plainly unacceptable that residents in part of north Belfast have had to endure weeks of appalling conditions as the result of the suspected illegal dumping of waste at two sites in the area.
During this time, people living in the Sydney Street West and Cambrai Street areas of the Shankill and Woodvale have had to put up with a dreadful stench as well as a large influx of rats and flies.
The situation has become so intolerable that a number of residents have left their homes while those that remain cannot open their windows and are worried about the implications for their health.
It is clear from photographs that the rubbish being dumped in a unit in Edenderry Mill Industrial Estate and derelict land on a second site at the junction of Hillview Road and Crumlin Road, is huge in quantity and, it is alleged, contains hazardous material including medical waste and oxygen cylinders.
A Northern Ireland Environment Agency spokesman said it is investigating the unauthorised disposal of controlled wastes at both sites.
There were signs yesterday that clearance of the sites is imminent, which is a welcome development.
But it has to be asked why it has taken so long for this accumulation of rubbish, which is clearly a public health as well as an environmental issue, to be removed.
By all accounts, residents have been complaining to a range of authorities but, as one put it, they have been 'passed from pillar to post.'
The question is why the relevant agencies did not take firm action as soon as they were alerted to this situation.
It should not have to take a campaign of publicity, or a street protest or the high level intervention of elected representatives for our public services to act on behalf of people who have been placed in a deplorable position through no fault of their own.
There is no doubt that fly tipping is a wider problem and determining who is responsible can be a protracted process.
However, families and pensioners living in a built up area are entitled to a speedier response than they received.
Ultimately, of course, accountability lies with those who engage in the authorised dumping of waste and in such cases there needs to be strict enforcement of the law.
