Council pay over €50,000 to clear illegal waste at Offaly housing estate

OFFALY County Council has paid €59,332 to have illegal dumping cleared away at Chancery Close in Tullamore.

The council had sought tenders on the government eTenders website and Oxigen emerged as the winner.

At a meeting of Tullamore Municipal District held in July 2024, it was reported that the area had suffered from dumping for years. Discussions about tackling the issue dated back to 2021 when the use of CCTV was considered during a county council meeting.

A major clean up operation was scheduled for September 2024. Mark Mahon, Senior Engineer with Climate Action, Environment & Water Services at Offaly County Council said €80,000 had been secured by waste management at the council and he said at the meeting that the first project was Chancery Close.

At the same meeting Councillor Sean O'Brien said he had been in the area one night and saw a dump truck throwing off stuff. He said he tried to get a number but they went at such a speed that it was impossible. ''Unfortunately these people are extremely organised and operate outside the law. It is causing massive issues and it's now rat infested,'' he said at the time.

The date on which the winner, Oxigen was chosen was August 2024 and the date for the conclusion of the contract was September 9, 2024. Details were published on eTenders this month.