McDowell opposes waste plans in his constituency

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell yesterday opposed the construction of an incinerator in his own constituency — in direct conflict with stated Government policy to build the facilities where they are needed.

Following the granting of the permission by An Bord Pleanála to the country’s first municipal waste incinerator in Co Meath, Mr McDowell said he opposed the Ringsend incinerator on traffic grounds and the proper infrastructure was not in place.

“The present proposal is that all rubbish should be brought from every quarter of Dublin through narrow streets to a site in Ringsend. There is no proper infrastructure for that project,” he said.

The Green Party welcomed the Mr McDowell’s support for their continued opposition to the Ringsend incinerator. But environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said that before the election Mr McDowell’s objections were more broad-ranging than traffic.

The decision by An Bord Pleanála to reject its own planning officers’ recommendation and grant permission to the Meath incinerator undermined public confidence in the planning process, Green Party finance spokesman Dan Boyle said.

Referring to the application for an incinerator in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, Mr Boyle said objectors feared the Meath incinerator was only a stalking horse for a far bigger incinerator in Cork. Bord Pleanála does not have the competence to make decisions on environmental and public health grounds, he said.

“The main focus now for the Cork community is whether the Bord Pleanála appeal process can be trusted and is acceptable. Many fighting the Ringaskiddy toxic waste incinerator fear it is not,” he said.

The Green Party wants the Government to ban the incineration of municipal waste.

Proposing a number of changes to the Protection of the Environment Bill currently being passed into legislation, Mr Cuffe said the Government should set a target of zero waste by 2015.

The Greens also say that objectors should have the right to appeal Environmental Protection Agency decisions to An Bord Pleanála. Mr Cuffe said fines for illegal dumping should be increased and members of the public should be given the power to take action on illegal dumps, with the State automatically paying costs for successful cases taken by third parties.

“Achieving zero waste is a very ambitious target. Almost anything in the waste stream can be recycled, if the will is there. Currently the Environmental Protection Agency issues licences to pollute. We don’t believe this is an acceptable way of dealing with waste in the 21st century. Our tourism and agricultural industries and our children deserve better,” he said.