A leading weed killer company has been spared a recorded conviction for pollution of groundwater and the River Tolka in Dublin after paying more than €11,000 in legal costs and a donation to charity.
Barclay Chemicals Manufacturing Ltd pleaded guilty in July at Dublin District Court to environmental breaches in relation to ground and surface water on dates in 2019. The prosecution was brought following an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Judge Anthony Halpin noted the firm had carried out upgrades and already paid the EPA’s costs of €6,469.
On Monday it was confirmed the company had given €5,000 to the Little Flower Penny Dinner Charity which helps underprivileged people in the Liberties area in Dublin.
At an earlier hearing, EPA inspector Brian Duggan told Judge Halpin that the firm, based at Damastown Way, in Mulhuddart, Dublin, discharged 5,000 times the limit of glyphosate that should be in groundwater.
Discharges into the River Tolka also exceeded the firm’s environmental licence but would have lost concentration in the river, Mr Duggan said. The firm subsequently put in place corrective measures and co-operated with the agency, the court heard.
Questioned by defence counsel Eoghan Cole, the EPA witness agreed that drinking water was not affected, it did not pose a risk to human life or result in a fish kill. Mr Cole told the court the firm had spent €250,000 in repairs.
The company employed 80 people and was an Irish success story exporting to 30 countries and was a leading supplier, counsel said.
The case had been delayed due to the pandemic and a guilty plea was indicated at an early stage, Mr Cole said.
Mr Cole had pleaded with the court to consider dealing with the case in a way that would leave the herbicide firm without a conviction. It had already paid the EPA’s costs of €6469, the court heard.
Judge Halpin had said dealing with chemicals is dangerous which is why high standards are expected from a company like this. Noting the cost of upgrading and the EPA evidence, he had decided to give the firm a chance to avoid a court conviction if it agreed to a charitable donation.
