UUP backs Alliance minister's call for a public inquiry into vast illegal dump at Mobuoy after two men jailed

The Alliance farming and environment minister Andrew Muir said today that he will be seeking support from the other parties in the Northern Ireland Executive for such a move.

Afterwards, the UUP issued a statement from Waterside councillor Darren Guy endorsing the move, and saying “we believe that there were more people involved in this crime than the two men now sentenced”.

Meanwhile the DUP said: “While there are undoubted and understandable grounds for considering the holding of a public inquiry into the Mobuoy illegal waste dump, there must be a balance between the merits of such an inquiry and the significant public money it would require, resources that could instead be directed toward the costly task of cleaning up the site.”

Sinn Fein was asked its stance, but no response had come at time of writing.

The two men jailed last week for their roles in the scandal were Paul Doherty, 67, of Culmore Road, Londonderry (who admitted seven charges between 2007 and 2013 relating to the contaminated Mobuoy dump at Campsie, outside the city, and was sentenced to one year in prison), and Gerard Farmer, 56, of Westlake in Londonderry (who pleaded guilty to three charges between 2011 and 2013 and was jailed for 21 months).

Mr Muir told the Northern Ireland Assembly he shared public concern over the "appalling situation" in Mobuoy and said he had approved the launch of a consultation on the draft strategy to undo the damage caused.

He said he had been advised that there had been no adverse impact on the safety of drinking water being supplied from the nearby River Faughan.

SDLP MLA Mark Durkan said: "Will the minister seek support from his Executive colleagues for a public inquiry into this scandal?"

Mr Muir responded: "I do believe there is merit for a public inquiry so I will be taking a paper to my Executive colleagues in regards to this.”

He added: “This could cost up to £700m to remediate this site. I will be looking to the UK Government, not just in terms of financial support in terms of any future public inquiry but also in terms of the remediation of the site.”

Alderman Guy told the News Letter: "The sentencing handed to the two men charged with the running of an illegal dump at Mobouy dump of 12 months and 21 months is far from adequate...

"These two men oversaw one of the biggest environmental crimes in the UK, possibly in Europe by allowing the illegal dumping of hundreds of thousands of tons of waste at a cost of around £30m-plus in relevant landfill charges and tax evasion.

"Like other parties, we would support calls for a full inquiry as we believe that there were more people involved in this crime than the two men now sentenced.

"However, we believe it is much more important to call for the Government and the DEARA minister to now find the correct solutions and the funding to begin the massive clean-up of the site."