News

Construction at Poolbeg to start in December

Friday, 27 November 2009 22:32

Construction of the controversial incinerator at Poolbeg is to begin in mid-December after Dublin City Council issued a commencement notice for the project.

The incinerator at Poolbeg is a long-running affair involving the Council, An Bord Pleanála, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Commission for Energy Regulation.

Construction is to begin on 14 December after the Council granted the final permission to the consortium that will build and operate the plant.

Labour Councillor Kevin Humphries has expressed surprise and shock that the construction is going ahead.

He said Minister for Environment John Gormley had suggested the plant would either be stopped or delayed but in fact it was being fast-tracked.

He said its time to find out if John Gormley is the Minister for Local Government or not.

A spokesman for Mr Gormley said his view remained that the facility was too large and there would not be enough waste to feed the plant, a contention backed by the EPA's waste report issued today.

He said he was proceeding with the fundamental reform of the waste market, including putting a levy on any waste going to incinerators.

Labour Councillor Maria Parodi said she believes the decision to begin building of the 600,000 tonne incinerator in Poolbeg is 'reckless and not the best deal for Dublin'.

She said that last night, the EPA published its National Waste Report 2008, which confirms municipal waste generation in Ireland fell by 5% last year.

She said that the Council cannot continue to justify building this incinerator when the entire Dublin Region 'does not even produce enough waste to fill it'.

She called on the City Manager to halt the project 'before it is too late'.

Cllr Parodi said that a comprehensive independent review of the project should be carried out to determine whether there is still a need for it.