To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he plans to prohibit the dumping of industrial waste into the Irish sea.

There is no dumping at present in the Irish sea of either solid or liquid industrial waste, under the licensing controls of part II of the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.I would examine very rigorously any new application for such dumping.The Ministry is controlling closely the dumping of sewage sludge and dredged spoil which are also licensed under the Act.