The shock figures emerged on foot of a question to Cork’s city manager, tabled by Fianna Fáil Cllr Ken O’Flynn.

He sought the information after a recent stand-off by residents of the Spring Lane halting site on the northside of the city who blocked city council attempts to remove an authorised extension of the halting site which is now occupied by several caravans.

The site at the centre of the illegal dumping, the adjoining Ellis’s Yard, was earmarked by the council for a major extension of the halting site. But the plan was ultimately shot down by councillors.

The yard has been blighted by illegal dumping over the years, and a large mound of rubbish is clearly visible on the site today.

While the cost of cleaning up that material has not been estimated, figures from the city manager show that the council has spent €576,850 on three major clean ups of Ellis’s Yard since 2003.

An operation in January and February 2003 cost €277,200 — the landfill charges alone were €198,900.

A clean-up of the site in September and October 2007 cost €159,600-€59,600 on contractor fees and an estimated €100,000 on landfill charges.

The clean-up in February and March 2009 cost €140,050 — €landfill charges costing just over €83,000.

The Traveller Visibility Group (TVG), which represents residents of the neighbouring halting site, accepted that illegal dumping on Ellis’s Yard is a problem.

But spokeswoman, Chrissie O’Sullivan, said it is not fair to blame the Traveller community for the dumping, without hard evidence. “Why are they blaming the residents?” she said.

“To the best of my knowledge, none of the residents of the site have ever been convicted of illegal dumping. The council is responsible for the mismanagement of Ellis’s Yard, and for the complete lack of management of the halting site. It’s not up to residents to police each other. They shouldn’t be policing each other. There are clear laws around dumping. Why are they not being enforced?”