Lawyers representing Wicklow County Council have informed the High Court of the council's intention to begin the clean up of a large illegal dump in West Wicklow.
The dump, at Whitestown between Baltinglass and Blessington, contains over 200,000 tonnes of rubbish, including some hospital waste.
The council is currently involved in a High Court action aimed at getting a number of parties to carry out and pay for the remediation of the site, which some estimates suggest could cost up to €50m.
In response, two of those parties are counter-claiming that the council, through its actions, should be responsible for the clean-up.
This morning the council's legal team told Mr Justice Daniel O'Keeffe that letters had been circulated to all the parties to the action yesterday, informing them that there had been a development in relation to the Department of the Environment.
The court was told that the parties had been informed that the council intended to enter the land at Whitestown early next month to carry out preliminary works, with a view to as soon as possible after that carrying out remediation of the land to eliminate the risk of pollution.
Counsel for the council said it was the council's view that its intended actions would not affect the ongoing legal case.
He said the work would be done one way or another by Wicklow County Council, but the court would decide who would pay for it.
The full hearing of that action is due to begin on 24 January.
But the legal representatives of two of the defendants in the case, Brownfield Restoration Ireland and Dean Waste, raised concerns about the council's plans.
Describing the development as an extraordinary turn of events, Michael O'Donnell JC for Brownfield said his clients' solicitors had only received the letter informing them of the developments at 4.30pm yesterday afternoon and this was the first time they had heard of the Department of the Environment's involvement.
He argued that the development set Wicklow County Council's court proceedings at naught because after eight years of delay on the part of the council, it was now in effect abandoning the proceedings by acting unilaterally.
He said that as landlords of the land in question, his clients have not been told anything about the work that is planned.
He asked the court to set aside time to examine the issues, including the legality and jurisdiction of the council's plans.
Meanwhile, Senior Counsel Shane Murphy for Dean Waste said it was a remarkable development in a case with a remarkable history.
Referring to a report on RTÉ’s Nine News last night, he said the national broadcaster had more notice of this development and what was planned than the parties did.
He said the notice given to his clients was absolutely woeful.
He also said his clients had concerns about Wicklow County Council's intended use of section 56 of the Waste Management Act to take this action, which could be seen as an effort by the council to avoid the strictures that may result from the adjudication of the court.
Having heard all the arguments, Mr Justice O'Keeffe said he would hear applications in relation to the matter in full on 13 December.
