Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, unfortunately is out of the country and is unavailable to respond in person. I have been given his speaking notes and will try to respond to any other issues the Deputy may raise in my later reply.

I understand that Galway County Council has granted planning permission for a waste transfer station that will receive waste and recyclables. Within a building at the facility, these materials will be unloaded and reloaded to larger vehicles for onward transfer to their waste facilities. Issues pertaining to the planning policy and the legislation do not fall within the Minister's remit and are matters for my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy.

My understanding of the current situation is that the company involved has made an application to Galway County Council for a waste authorisation to infill the site in question. Galway County Council is considering the submissions it has received on that application. I also understand that a further waste authorisation to regulate the waste activity at the transfer station itself would be required in advance of this facility beginning to operate. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment is precluded under section 63 of the Waste Management Act 1996 from exercising any power or control over specific cases of a local authority's performance of its statutory functions under the Act. Furthermore, waste management planning, including with regard to infrastructure planning, is the responsibility of the local authorities under Part II of the Waste Management Act 1996.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, I understand that the Minister met members of the Poolboy community in January 2018 to discuss and tease out a number of issues around this matter. I fully appreciate that the community has concerns. However, the Minister's role in waste management is to provide a comprehensive legislative and policy framework through which the relevant regulatory bodies, such as local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, operate.

In this regard, should the company involved apply for a waste facility permit to operate a waste transfer station, it will be open to the public to make written submissions on that application. Galway County Council would then be required, under the Waste Management (Facility Permit and Registration) Regulations 2007, as amended, to have regard to such submissions in making a decision on any proposed application.

More generally, where a waste facility permit has been issued by a local authority, the person carrying on the waste activity must comply with the conditions of the permit, including that the activity is carried out in a manner which does not cause, and is not likely to cause, environmental pollution. In essence, I understand the local community has concerns about the proposed development but I would urge the community to continue to engage with the statutory processes in place which regulate such developments.

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