Council 'can walk away from incinerator contract'

The Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has called on the Environment Minister and Dublin City Council to clarify if there is a cost to the taxpayer if a contract for an incinerator in the capital is broken.

Dublin City Council has been called on to use a "break clause" in the contract for the proposed Poolbeg incinerator to scale down the project.

It's claimed that a "break clause" in the contract allows the authority to extend it, re-negotiate or walk away when the first three years expires this Sunday.

This will allow Dublin City Council to dismiss the project without any financial penalty.

The Environment Minister John Gormley – who opposed the incinerator at Poolbeg as it is in his constituency – has repeatedly insisted it was much bigger than what was needed.

Eamon Gilmore has said: "Clear answers are now needed to some questions."

The Irish Waste Management Association wants the council to use the break clause to ensure the incinerator, as proposed, does not proceed.