‘I’d find myself in court if I interfered over incinerator’ says Simon Coveney

The new planning minister said he will be “disappointed” if An Bord Pleanála approves the building of an incinerator in Co Cork but that he would find himself in court if he tried to intervene.

Simon Coveney said while his views on the proposed Ringaskiddy location for the incinerator were “pretty clear”, he didn’t want “to pretend to have powers I don’t have”.

“It’s up to An Bord Pleanála now to take account of all the views they have heard and I hope that they will and if they do, that they will refuse it (planning permission).

“I will be disappointed if they (waste management company Indaver Ireland) are given it, but I would find myself in court if I interfered,” he said.

Mr Coveney recently made a presentation at an oral hearing into an application by Indaver to build a 240,000 tonne waste-to- energy facility in Ringaskiddy, during which he said he believed it was fundamentally the wrong location.

He said it “simply cannot be consistent with good planning or existing planning guidelines relating to incineration” against a backdrop of substantial investment in education and tourism in the Cork Harbour area.

The hearing continues this week.

In relation to proposals to merge Cork City and County councils, put on hold during the general election, Mr Coveney said he was “not taking a position” on whether he was for or against a merger but that a way forward would have to be found “that everyone can live with”.

He said the Smiddy report, which recommended a merger, would inform discussions, as would a minority report that opposed it.

“The report will continue to inform the decisions but it won’t necessarily define the outcome,” the minister said.

“I am not anti the merger but I don’t have a closed mind to other (governance) structures either.”

However, if Cork was to compete with Dublin in terms of attracting investment, Mr Coveney said: “Personally I feel we need to look at changing structures.”