Man caught burning wire on bogland to extract copper
A Galway man caught burning copper wire on bogland off the Headford Road was fined €500 at Galway District Court.
The case was brought by Galway County Council, who were congratulated on their successful prosecution by Galway TD Noel Grealish, who said this kind of activity was a growing problem that must be nipped in the bud.
Connie Delaney, 38 Fána Glas, Ballybane, was prosecuted Under section 32 of the Waste Management Act, 1996, as supplemented by Section 4 of the Waste Management (Prohibition of. Waste Disposal by Burning) Regulations 2009.
Galway District Court was told that the Council’s Environment Section were alerted by a member of the public, who noticed black smoke rising from Curraghmore Bog as they passed by on the Headford Road on August 26, 2014.
Tom Dunworth, Senior Executive Technican with Galway County Council, told the court that they notified Galway Gardaí who went to the area, along with himself and a Council colleague.
When they arrived on the scene they found Connie Delaney and another man burning rubber off wires in order to extract the copper.
They confiscated the material and got an authorised waste collector to take the material off he site.
Judge Mary Fahy said that copper wire was very expensive and was told by Mr Dunworth that copper fetched about €3,000 to €4,000 a ton.
Judge Fahy noted that from looking at a video recording and photos taken at the scene, there was the likelihood of serious environmental effects from this activity.
Having ascertained that Delaney had used his vehicle on the day, she asked if the Council was making an application to have him disqualified from driving due to the fact that his vehicle was used in the commission of an illegal activity.
Mr Dunworth said the Council had not made such an application.
Judge Fahy convicted and fined Delaney €500 and ordered him to pay €750 towards the Council’s costs.
Galway West Independent TD Noel Grealish this week congratulated the Council on the prosecution, adding that he hoped it might deter others from similar activity.
“Apart from the danger of gorse fires, which at that time of the year on dry bogland could threaten property, burning rubber like this releases seriously dangerous toxins into water streams that could poison animals and livestock.
“I congratulate the Council on their speedy response to this incident and I would hope this case might encourage more people to report such illegal activity in the future, knowing that action will be taken,” added Deputy Grealish.