The company behind plans to build Dublin's Poolbeg incinerator has welcomed the Government's decision not to impose levies on waste incineration.
The previous Environment Minister John Gormley planned to impose levies of €120 a tonne on incineration which he said would have made the proposed Poolbeg plant unviable.
But the new bill bought to committee stage by Minister Phil Hogan has deleted this provision.
Last April Mr Hogan announced that landfill levies would increase from €30 to €50 a tonne in September and rise to €75 a tonne by 2013.
Covanta, the US company planning to build Poolbeg for the city council, welcomed the proposal not to levy incineration.
A company statement it said this approach has been shown in other countries to help divert waste away from landfill.
The company statement added that it remained committed to the project.
A spokesman for the Irish Waste Management Association said that the economic viability of Poolbeg is still in doubt because three of the four local Dublin authorities are pulling out of waste collection.
He said the four local authorities would be stuck with a contract to supply 320,000 tonnes to Poolbeg but only Dublin city council would be left controlling 80,000 tonnes of waste collection.
A spokeswoman for Dublin City Council said it did not matter who collected the waste as disposal is governed by EU law.
The contract between Dublin City Council and Covanta for the €350m project is under review with a final decision due in November.
