Why should we be the dumping ground for waste from other areas?
Donabate/Portrane has had more than its share through the years. We still remember the seagulls and the smell in the heyday of Balally dump. Many, including myself, have witnessed the seagulls having another source of food at the mouth of the small Portrane sewage treatment plant due to ongoing problems, and one could see the discolouration in the sea water around the mouth of the pipe from time to time.
At 600 metres out to sea we won’t see the colour of the water, but we will see the gulls and get the smell, as in Ringsend, while the areas creating the stinking mess go about their lives depositing their waste on us.
It is about time every area accepted responsibility for the waste it creates. There is no sound reason why Donabate/Portrane should again be a take-all rubbish dump. A unit catering for 65,000 people is more than enough to cope with in the peninsula. When our noses tell us problems are occurring, it is too late. Pouring all the water into the sea is a useless option instead of using it for golf courses, parks and the like. A unit to cater for 65,000 people is fair for Donabate, Rush, Lusk and Portrane. It is a big unit by any standard. Other areas should take some responsibility for themselves.
Joan Dooley
Lea Hurst
Balcarrick
Donabate
Co Dublin
