The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed T.D., today welcomed the signing of contracts to commence remediation of the East Tip as the main focus of the Haulbowline Island remediation project.

Commenting at the signing, the Minister said “I am delighted that the tender process for this crucial step has been successfully concluded and that we can now look forward to the core remediation work at Haulbowline Island being addressed.  The Government is committed to remediating Haulbowline Island and the East Tip is one of the most important aspects to be addressed”.

Cork County Council is acting as agent of the Minister in the remediation of Haulbowline Island. The contract is being awarded by Cork County Council to a consortium led by PJ Hegarty & Sons Ltd. and is for an extensive remediation of the East Tip waste deposit site. The works will include marine elements to prevent tidal incursions to the site, access and infrastructure works and capping the waste materials to render the site safe, stable and suitable for future uses.

The Minister went on to say “We can expect remediation works will intensify from now until late 2018. There will be significant construction activity on the island, it will bring substantial benefits to the local economy and transform the Island into a genuine national infrastructural asset. ”

Note for Editors

The Government approved a proposal to enable the clean-up of the East Tip on Haulbowline Island in 2011. Cork County Council is acting as agent of the Minister in the remediation of the site. Key milestones of the remediation project were the planning application for works on the East Tip, lodged with An Bord Pleanála in October 2013 and the waste licence application, submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency in November 2013.  The approval of both planning and waste licence applications which involved complex and detailed preparatory work cleared the way for the completion of the project in the East Tip.  Enabling works have included improving the roadway leading onto Haulbowline Island and strengthening the bridge connecting it with Ringaskiddy to allow the removal of heavy scrap metal and the hauling capping materials for the East Tip..

Haulbowline Island is located within Cork Harbour, between Cobh to the north and Ringaskiddy to the south. The East Tip contains approximately 650,000m³ of steelworks waste that was deposited on a sand spit over a 40 year period. The demolition of the former steelworks has also left a large site in the centre of the island that is unusable pending remediation. Access to the Island by road is from Ringaskiddy via bridges which traverse Rocky Island.

To view this Press Release as a PDF: DAFMPR 131/2017 (pdf 365Kb) 

Date Released: 10 July 2017