A retired waste company boss has been jailed over "serious environmental offences" at a Kildare landfill site that resulted in a public clean-up bill of almost €61 million.
Tony Dean’s conviction follows an investigation by the EPA and An Garda Siochana spanning almost 20 years.
The 70-year-old former Neiphin Trading Limited director was sentenced to three years for each of three charges after waste at the Kerdiffstown, Naas facility reached 116 metres in height and contaminated the air and groundwater.
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Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement, Dr Tom Ryan, said: "Waste crime can cause harm to the environment and public health and have significant consequences for the taxpayer.
"This conviction is a vindication of the resilient efforts of the State authorities working together for the public good over almost two decades.
"It sends a powerful warning to companies and their directors – those engaging in criminal activity which puts the environment and public health at risk will be held to account."
Dean was found guilty in November 2022 of breaching an EPA licence between October 1, 2003 and September 26, 2006 and again between September 27, 2006 and November 25, 2008.
His third conviction was for holding, transporting, recovering or disposing of waste in a manner that caused or was likely to cause environmental pollution at the waste facility between October 1, 2003 and November 25, 2008.
His three sentences will run concurrently, with the final 12 months suspended.
The EPA thanked the many people involved in the case and associated investigation over almost two decades.
Dean Kelly (Senior Counsel) and Fionnuala O Sullivan (Barrister at Law) acted for the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) instructed by Elizabeth Staunton, State Solicitor.
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