Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Why would the Green Party argue that we have to dump the waste on future generations by dumping it in landfill in this country? Properly engineered landfill will continue to have a residual role, but it makes no sense to resort to it for all waste. I have yet to hear a coherent response from the Green Party. It is quite incredible that a party supposedly dedicated to the environment should pursue policies that are going nowhere.

Simple logic, which I know does not apply to the Green Party, tells us that operating state-of-the-art incinerators which produce electricity or district heating is infinitely preferable to burying our waste. We have no right to foist our waste on other countries or our children, which is what we do by depending on landfill. The waste to energy plants which are finally being advanced by the public and private sector will be subject to the most rigorous physical planning and environmental licensing regimes.

See this speech in context