Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Forfás also found that Ireland has a high waste generation per capita. However, high waste generation can generally be expected in a country with a booming economy. The study also demonstrates that other countries are able to achieve higher recovery rates and lower waste treatment costs than is possible in Ireland because they use waste in energy plants to reduce their reliance on landfill. The Green Party likes to indulge in selective quotations and ignore what is inconvenient. This includes the generally accepted view that our lack of incinerators is a major infrastructural deficit. That point has been made time and again by a variety of sources. It is one of the issues we must address, not dodge. What we have seen in this debate is an exercise in public deceit on this issue.

An example of the progress in this regard is that the Dublin authorities are now progressing with the idea of an energy plant at Poolbeg. As has been made clear time and again, it will go through the normal planning process.

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