Ringaskiddy
Incinerator plan approved
Minister for the Environment Martin Cullen has said we need a mature approach to waste management in this country.
He said the EU had put Ireland under tremendous pressure not to export toxic waste, and that waste management facilities were needed for Ireland's modern economy.
The minister was responding to criticism of today's decision by An Bord Pleanala, giving the go-ahead for Ireland's first commercial toxic waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Co Cork.
Opponents of the incinerator say they are taking legal advice following the decision.
The permission has been granted with conditions, however. In reaching its decision, the board went against the recommendations of its own senior planning inspector.
It is understood that Philip Jones recommended that planning permission for the project be refused and that he gave 14 reasons for his recommendation. However, a full board meeting of An Bord Pleanála last night rejected that recommendation.
Indaver plans €70m project
A waste management company, Indaver Ireland, plans to build the incinerator to process up to 100,000 tonnes of hazardous and industrial waste per year. But more than 20 pressure groups opposed the company's plans at a four-week oral hearing in Cork last September.
Indaver Ireland's planning application was the biggest ever dealt with by Cork County Council, whose members voted last May to block permission for the €70m project.
Indaver appealed to An Bord Pleanála and in September Senior Planning Inspector Philip Jones was appointed to chair an oral hearing. The hearing heard evidence that the company's 30-acre site at Ringaskiddy, adjacent to Cork Harbour, was ideal for the incinerator, and that it would be entirely safe.
Following the announcement of An Bord Pleanála's decision, a spokeswoman for the Cork Harbour Area for Safe Environment organisation, Linda Fitzpatrick, told RTÉ radio the decision contravened EU regulations.
She also said the group was considering putting forward candidates in this year's local elections to campaign on the incinerator issue.
