Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)

This proposal was formulated and promoted under previous Governments and has in essence been inherited by this Administration. Like many things inherited by this Government we must revisit the rationale and costing behind those decisions, especially with major infrastructural projects of this size. It is only prudent to do so. Estimates place the cost of constructing this facility at the high end of €2 billion. Is that the case and is the money available given current strictures on capital funding?

Taking all things into consideration - the environmental impact, the potential for high financial cost to the Exchequer and the many other negative impacts - will the Minister consider looking at alternatives such as smaller treatment plants? The people of north County Dublin have no problem treating their own waste in this fashion. The smaller plants approach would allow for a more modular approach that would spread the costs over a longer period and would have less of an impact on the surrounding environment. There is cross-community and cross-party opposition to this proposal, including from the Labour Party and Fine Gael representatives, and the arguments against it are sound. The alternatives to it, like the one I propose, are also sound.

I appeal to the Minister to at least review the rationale and the assumptions which underpin the proposal to see if they are valid today and put the project on hold until that has been done. They may be out of date because of the recession. The people of north County Dublin demand a change in policy from Fingal County Council and the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government on this matter and I fully support them. I ask for a positive response.

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