Government pushes ahead with plans for incinerators

THE Government is to push ahead with plans to build incinerators around the country later this year.

Minister for the Environment Martin Cullen said yesterday that action was overdue on regional waste plans and insisted that a national programme on waste would get under way in the autumn.

He also said that he was determined to set up a new enforcement agency to ensure that there was better compliance with environmental laws.

"This is not about imposing solutions it's about realism in tackling a major problem area acknowledged by everyone," said Mr Cullen. "Leadership is defined by action and achievement and I am determined to give the leadership that will secure real and effective policy implementation."

Regional waste plans have been adopted by local authorities around the country, which include: incinerators for waste which cannot be recycled, landfills for waste which cannot be treated and increased focus on recycling and waste prevention.

Mr Cullen said that the proposed incinerators would have to comply with strict environmental law and with a rigorous licensing system under the aegis of the Environmental Protection Agency.

He said incineration was just part of the overall strategy and pointed to recycling targets of 40% to 45% as a sign that the Government was determined to develop alternative ways of treating waste.

Mr Cullen disclosed his plans at the launch of a report on Ireland's record on environmental issues, which was published in advance of the forthcoming World Summit, which is scheduled to take place in South Africa next month.

The Government report says that Ireland has made much progress in enhancing the protection of the environment, through establishing the Environment Protection Agency, introducing pollution control licensing and publishing a strategy on sustainable development. Critics point out that action has not been forthcoming on a series of plans produced in recent years and say Ireland's record on reducing greenhouse gas, for example, has been extremely poor.

Mr Cullen acknowledged that progress towards sustainable development had been slower than hoped, but insisted he was determined to effect real change in the area.

Other measures he promised to take included implementing the national spatial strategy, which centres on settlement patterns, greater responsibility for firms which create waste and increased grant assistance for a range of recycling initiatives.

"We have a dynamic economy and a high-quality environment. In fact, we must have both. In the long-run, economic activity is undermined by inadequate environmental protection," Minister Cullen said.

He added that sustainable development did not just depend on Government policies, but insisted that social partners and individual citizens had an important role to play.