Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

I take it that Thursday is the day, and we look forward to that.

On another matter, is the Taoiseach aware that an oral hearing has commenced in the Boyne Valley Hotel in Drogheda over the licensing of the first municipal waste incinerator in Ireland? Government policy has often been characterised as a burn it and bury it approach, although Ministers, Deputy Roche and Deputy McDowell, do not want the burning part of it in their areas. Our policy is different as it is a zero waste strategy which does not allow incineration. Does the Taoiseach recognise the growing anger among people over the failure of the EPA to execute its role in a strong, independent and effective way? Will he accept and take seriously the procedural flaws revealed in this process, whereby a planning application can be appealed to another body, An Bord Pleanála, which is entirely independent from the local authority, yet an EPA licence is appealed to the EPA? Given the EPA's biased and well known pro-incineration position, its quite sloppy approach to the GreenStar Kentstown 350 acre dump and that the EPA has been compromised over its public pronouncements which basically parrot Government policy, does he recognise that there is a need for an appeal body that stands aside from the EPA? Does the Taoiseach find it unacceptable that in the monitoring of dioxins, samples have to be sent abroad? Does he find it unacceptable that witnesses at the oral hearing are restricted if they are opposed to incineration, whereas the pro-incineration company proposing the plant can introduce all sorts of other cases? Does he agree that the built-in bias within the EPA needs to be addressed? It is time to review the EPA.

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