Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

To take up the last point made by the Minister, is it not the case that his predecessor, Deputy Cullen, met Indaver Ireland at the end of the planning process regarding an incinerator for Carranstown? The company made submissions to the then Minister and he agreed to change the decision of An Bord Pleanála. Is that not a fact? At the same time, the process relating to the waste licensing system had not been completed through the Environmental Protection Agency. Is it also not a fact that Greenstar, another company with interests in waste licensing in this country, met officials of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in Brussels — I do not know why they met in Brussels — to make a submission to them on the decisions of An Bord Pleanála?

If the Minister is putting An Bord Pleanála at the heart of his plans for a fast-track decision making process, which I welcome, it is utterly wrong that Ministers would try to change or sidestep decisions of An Bord Pleanála by changing regulations. The Minister brought in regulations several weeks ago relating to regional boundaries for the transport of waste. Those regulations have put Indaver Ireland back in position and allowed it to circumvent the decision of An Bord Pleanála, which was a democratic one.

If one disagrees with a decision of An Bord Pleanála, one has a right to appeal it to the High Court, which was the process to date. From now on, however, the Minister proposes to establish a process for specific projects whereby an incinerator developer, for example, can lobby the Minister to introduce new regulations to circumvent a decision that is not to his or her liking. This can occur, notwithstanding the fact that thousands of people may have objected to the incinerator, as is the case in my constituency, in County Cork and other parts of the country. This is simply not good enough.

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