John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Deputy McDowell is in Government and he is failing to deliver on his commitments. He has betrayed the electorate to whom he made these solemn promises. Unless the Minister persuades his party to accept the thrust of the motion, it is clear that both Government parties are in favour not only of this incinerator but of all incinerators.

The main reason the hazardous waste incinerator was given the go-ahead in Cork, was that it was Government policy. The planning inspector may have given 14 reasons it should not go ahead, but all these were overruled because of the Government's commitment to incineration. I fear that the proposal for one of the largest mass burn incinerators in Europe on the Poolbeg peninsula could go before An Bord Pleanála and that, although I could provide the best of reasons for opposing it, and there are many such reasons, which I will outline later, all could be ignored because of the Government's commitment to incineration.

The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, also claims that he used his influence to stop this proposal from being taken under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill. There are a number of points to be made about this claim. First, there is no evidence to suggest that the Minister did so. Replies to questions I have asked in this regard in no way indicate that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, could put a stop to this project. If the Minister's claims are correct, I ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, who is present in the Chamber, to say if it is true. A simple "yes" or "no" will suffice.

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