On February 25^th, the ICF held a major quarry planning conference in Newbridge. The conference was held as a follow up to the recent ICF publication “Essential Aggregates – Providing for Ireland’s Future to 2040” which was launched by Minister for Natural Resources, Sean Canney in October 2019.

The conference was attended by ICF members, local authority planners, environmental non- Government organisations, regulatory bodies and other stakeholder organisations.  Those in attendance were treated to a very interesting and informative day, with presentations from national and European experts including leading Environmental Non-Governmental Organisations, industry representatives and legal and industry planning experts.

Some of the themes and issues which arose on the day included the role of aggregates in the circular economy, the essential nature of aggregates for Ireland’s future development, the effective regulation of quarries, the need for legislative change with regard to quarries, the importance of effective enforcement of unauthorised quarry operations and national procurement policy.

ICF members can view the presentations here