'Community Inquiry' into Mobuoy superdump

Four ‘Have Your Say’ public meetings have taken place as part of the Community Inquiry into the notorious Mobuoy superdump.

Situated on the outskirts of Derry city, Mobuoy covers an area of 115 acres, an area equivalent to 87 soccer pitches.

Bounded to the west by the River Faughan, a designated Area of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, Mobuoy is estimated to contain one million tonnes of illegal, secretly dumped waste.

Michael Avila from the Committee on the Administration of Justice.

The ‘Have Your Say’ meetings, facilitated by Michael Avila from the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ), took place this week in Eglinton, Strathfoyle, Drumahoe and Derry’s Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin.

Speaking to The Derry News, Mr Avila explained CAJ had previously run two community inquiries - the Gerard Lawlor Inquiry in 2012 and the Bitter Legacy Inquiry in 2024.

“This is our first time doing a community inquiry around environmental matters,” he said.

“Essentially Mobuoy should have had a public inquiry a long time ago, going back to 2013/2014 especially when there was an all-party motion passed in the Assembly agreeing to one,” he added.

“That hasn’t happened, so we feel it is incumbent on ourselves and civil society working with the community to hold a community inquiry, essentially a mock public inquiry into what really should happen in Mobuoy, to inform what will, hopefully, happen in a real public inquiry.

“We can then pressure the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) and other members of the Government to push for an actual public inquiry at some point.

“The Mobuoy Community Inquiry is an equal partnership. CAJ is taking the lead on the human rights element and The Gathering, which is based in the northwest and has a strong presence in the local community, is bringing grassroots mobilisation to the process.

“We also have Friends of the Earth (FOE), Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI) and Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS), which is going to be providing legal support, involved. Both EJNI and PILS will really enhance the process.

“For all intents and purposes this is a legal inquiry, it just isn’t an official one. Both EJNI and FOE are strong on environmental justice, on both the legal and the activism side of things,” he added.

“But most important is the community. It is the engine that makes us go forward. We don’t want to come to any resolutions or findings through the Community Inquiry without the buy-in of the community. That is central.

“Each of the communities we have visited have had different concerns regarding Mobuoy, depending on the different ways in which it has affected them.

“The main question is, ‘How toxic is Mobuoy?’ But, we want to know if we are asking the right question and what other questions need to be asked.”

With the initial planning phase of the Mobuoy Public Inquiry over, this week launched its evidence submissions process.

Mr Avila said he would encourage people to submit their testimony by email at: mobuoyinquiry@caj.org.uk from now until the end of March 2026.

“After that we will probably have a two month planning window with the panellists. There will be independent panellists on a range of different academic subjects related to this,” he said.

“They will not be connected to Mobuoy. They might not even be from Northern Ireland. We will be prepping them, triaging the evidence to make sure everything is ready for the two days of hearings in the Guildhall.

“They are going to by very fast and there are so many facets to Mobuoy. Someone will be centering on criminal justice and others on environmental justice.

“We will be have to find a balance between who is responsible for Mobuoy and holding them responsible, while also finding out how Mobuoy is to be remediated and restored to the site it should be.

“The findings and recommendations from the hearings will be compiled into a report with which the Government will be lobbied to make the necessary change. It will, hopefully, be ready in the autumn of 2026 and the lobbying will then begin.

“It is crucial that the process centres on the community because if we don’t have people that are really directly affected by Mobuoy then we might miss the mark. We really want to get people involved as much as possible, by submitting their evidence or getting involved in the hearing or promoting us on social media. It really is a grass roots movement.”

The Mobuoy Community Inquiry team has also been asked to meet with Derry City and Strabane District Council.

The proposal was made by Cllr Declan Norris (SDLP) at Wednesday’s meeting of Council’s Environment and Regeneration committee, of which he is chairperson.

The Committee also received a report titled: ‘Mobuoy Update from DAERA’

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It stated: “The public consultation on the draft Remediation Strategy for the Mobuoy site closed on October 2 2025. NI Environment Agency (NIEA) is now carefully considering the consultation responses and will determine any necessary amendments to the draft Remediation Strategy.

“NIEA plans to publish a consultation report in the new year. Any implementation plan and timetable for remediation remains subject to the outcome of the public consultation and will be considered in the context of the department’s responsibility to protect water quality and the challenging constraints of public finances.

“The NIEA technical teams continue to attend the site as part of the ongoing Environmental Monitoring Programme. There are on-going issues with anti-social behaviour at the site. The NIEA continue to notify the landowners alongside engaging in a multi-agency approach on this matter. The NIEA are not the registered owners of the site, and as such, do not hold the statutory powers to secure and prevent access to the site.

“The NIEA continues to take all reasonable measures to maintain safe access to sampling points monitored under the Environment Management Plan (EMP).

“No pollution incidents in the River Faughan have been reported by members of the public or identified through the monitoring carried out under the EMP.

“The Mobuoy Team continues to work in partnership with NI Water and a comprehensive EMP continues to be implemented at the site.

“This includes site and riverbank inspections together with daily laboratory testing of water quality at the NIW public water abstraction and remains a priority.”