Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank my colleagues and everybody else who spoke on the motion. I read Deputy Cullinane's amendment and, given that I do not disagree with any of it, I am disposed to accept it. I take the opportunity to refer to a small group in Limerick, Limerick Against Pollution, that has stood in the ditch to resist the proposal. It is a small, dedicated group that has worked tirelessly on behalf of the people of its area, and every man, woman and child who is potentially affected by the proposal in Mungret owes it a great deal of gratitude. Even though the group is small in number and badly financed - it sells tickets and holds events such as raffles to raise funding - it is supported by thousands of people, including all the political parties in the area and none. I have attended most of the public meetings and rallies, where Fine Gael representatives were among the most vehement in their opposition to the proposal. They were fully on the side of the community and some were almost ready to lay down their lives to protect the community. It will be interesting, therefore, to see how their party colleagues in the House will respond to the motion and whether they will accept it. I am not playing politics but rather making a last-ditch effort to prevent a calamity in my community. I heard nothing in the responses of the Ministers of State, especially in that of Deputy Canney, that will afford any comfort or consolation to the people on whose behalf I am speaking.

The people of Limerick are watching the debate closely. The matter is in the heart of 25,000 residents, and 4,500 objections to it have been submitted. If the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, wishes to reflect on the matter overnight, he can, but the people are watching the debate carefully. If there is a marked difference between the approaches of Fine Gael in the House and Fine Gael on the ground in Limerick, people will naturally ask why. I ask the Minister and the Government to give careful consideration to the proposal. The Ministers of State outlined nothing in respect of incineration except for a vague promise that the Government is committed to a circular economy at some indeterminate time in the future, like St. Augustine, who wrote, "O God, make me good, but not yet." We heard nothing about the proposal in Mungret. If, as the Ministers of State asserted, we recognise that change must come and the whole system has to be recast, why will we not pause the proposal for yet another incinerator that will have a lifetime of 20 or 30 years? Such proposals are now resisted by communities in other countries that realise they were mistaken, while we are aware of the problems yet seem determined to make the same mistake.

I ask the Government to accept the motion, as amended, to show good faith and to demonstrate that it and its representatives on the ground in Limerick are on the same wavelength.

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