A former forestry owner has been fined in court in relation to an estimated 4,000t of waste that included adult nappies and catheters found on his then forestry plantation.

Kilmallock District Court heard at the time the waste was discovered that the land was a clear-fell forestry plantation, but has since been sold with cows now grazing the site.

Judge Patricia Harney fined Desmond O’Brien of Ardkilmartin, Kilmallock, Co Limerick, €2,500 for failure to comply with a statutory notice served under section 55 of the Waste Management Act.

She also ordered at Kilmallock District Court on Tuesday 18 March that Mr O’Brien also pay legal costs of €2,002.50.

‘Significant quantities of waste’

In evidence, a Limerick City and County Council inspector said the prosecution was not issued for depositing waste on land, it was for failure to comply with a notice within the timeline outlined.

The land was inspected in June 2023, where Mr O’Grady of the local authority said “significant quantities of waste” were found. The plantation had been fully cleared in late 2022/early 2023 due to ash dieback, he added.

This waste included construction and demolition material, as well as possible “sanitary waste from a medical facility – adult nappies, used catheters, material like that”.

Mr O’Grady was contacted by Mr O’Brien following receipt of the notice, where the latter said he had no knowledge of any waste imported on to his land, the court heard.

The council representative said “it was difficult for me, having been on site on a number of occasions, to understand why he may not be aware of what’s going on in the field behind his house”. He added that he estimated that 4,000t to 5,000t of waste was present on the land.

The former forestry plantation was reinspected in November 2023 and the waste was still present.

The summons relating to the matter came before the court on 19 March 2024. Subsequent inspections found the waste had been removed. This caused concern, the council representative said, as to whether or not the waste was disposed of properly.

The court heard that at the time of the initial inspection in June 2023, Mr O’Brien was in the final stages of selling the land to his neighbour, a farmer, Mr Michael O’Mahony, who has land adjoining the site in question. This sale went through in December 2023.

On cross examination, Mr O’Grady said the percentage of the land covered with waste was “relatively small, probably less than 5%”. He also said he did not agree the land had been restored to agricultural potential, as it is unknown where the waste is.

‘Wasn’t true’

Mr O’Brien said that “it wasn’t true” that he could see the waste from his house, that it is 500 yards to 700 yards from his house and there is a hill in between.

“I swear on my mother’s grave I never saw it,” he told the judge.

He added that he never deposited waste material on his land and hadn’t gone down to the forestry for “hand on heart, safely 20 years”.

Mr O’Brien contested that there was a large amount of waste on the land: “I didn’t see a large amount of waste. I thought until today what he was talking about was a photograph I saw of a bit of concrete, a tyre and a few things like that.”

He said that he did not understand that the notice said he could remove the waste in consultation with the council.

On cross examination, he added that he had a conversation with Mr O’Mahony who said he knew nothing about the waste.

Judge Harney said she found it “impossible to believe the evidence given by Mr O’Brien” and imposed the fine and legal costs of the council.