Greenpeace protest at a Swiss pharmaceutical company plant in Cork.
A section of the Sandoz Ringaskiddy plant was occupied by environmental activists. The protestors unfurled a banner from the top of the incinerator and also chained themselves to it. Symbolic white cardboard crosses were also attached to trees on the site.
Greenpeace claims that the latest licence issued to Sandoz by Cork County Council overturns the strict controls imposed by An Bord Pleanála following a lengthy oral hearing two years ago.
A complaint about the issue was made at European Commission (EC) level by the Cork Environmental Alliance, and now the EC wants answers from the Irish government.
The manner in which the pharmaceutical company has acted is undemocratic, believes Greenpeace campaigner Clare O’Grady Walsh,
Sandoz have walked all over and made a mockery of the Irish planning system by doing this.
Cork County Council meanwhile deny allegations that they have placed the company’s requirements over public health.
There were brief scuffles between protestors and security staff at the plant, and Sandoz called the action
An irresponsible publicity stunt.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 16 July 1993. The reporter is Tom MacSweeney.
