Minister for the Environment John Gormley has expressed serious concern that the contract signed by Dublin City Council to develop a incinerator at Poolbeg is anti-competitive.
Mr Gormley said that if this was the case, it would be a serious matter and the local authority would have to ‘go back to the drawing board’.
He said he had taken legal and economic advice and he has written to the Dublin City Manager and is awaiting his response.
He said the plant proposed 600,000 tonne capacity ‘did not make sense’ and the contract appeared to ‘drown out competition’.
The Minister said other waste companies involved in recycling and mechanical and biological treatment wouldn't invest in the waste market.
Mr Gormley was speaking this morning while attending an environmental protection agenda conference in Dublin.
Meanwhile, planning permission is to be sought for the construction of a national hazardous waste facility, which will treat ash from incinerators and then bury it on-site in north Co Dublin.
Murphy Environmental is applying for planning permission to construct the hazardous waste facility in the Naul.
The company already operates an inert landfill at Hollywood in the Naul.
It says the Environmental Protection Agency and Government have identified the need for such a plant, and construction would create more than 50 jobs over 12 months.
Murphy Environmental has sought to reassure the residents of the Naul that the facility will be safe and its operation will be odourless.
The company says the location of the facility would enable it to accept ash from the planned incinerator at Poolbeg peninsula in Dublin, which up-to-now anticipated exporting its ash by-product.
However, Dublin City Council said it now intends to recycle its ash, which could cause a problem for Murphy Environmental's business plan.
Whether Poolbeg will require additional planning permission for ash recycling is also unclear.
