Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will introduce legislation to ban incineration. [5471/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The short answer to the Deputy's question is "no", as I do not propose to introduce legislation on the lines suggested in the question. Incineration with energy recovery forms an important part of a modern, integrated and sustainable approach to waste management consistent with the internationally accepted waste hierarchy. Its role is fully recognised within the European Union environmental framework which, moreover, regulates waste incineration in accordance with strict environmental standards. This approach is the world's gold standard.

The Scandinavian countries, Germany and the Netherlands, which are often cited as adhering to the highest environmental standards and providing a model of best practice, use incineration with energy recovery as a key part of their approach to solid waste treatment. They combine this with extremely high levels of waste recycling to minimise the amount of residual waste landfilled. They also count combined heat and power — CHP — as a form of recovery because energy is recovered. This is a model which Ireland should also move towards, attaining the highest possible levels of recycling, incinerating non-recyclable waste with energy recovery in the form of electricity, district heating or both and landfilling only a small proportion of inert waste.

Ireland has significantly increased its recycling levels in recent years. While municipal waste recycling has increased from only 9% in 1998 to a current level of 34%, this alone does not prevent a growing volume of waste going to landfill because the general level of waste is increasing. It is evident that if we are to make further progress in diverting waste away from landfills, we need to focus more on waste minimisation and reduction as well as energy recovery through incineration.

At a minimum, waste to energy plants are subject to stringent emission limits provided for in the EU incineration directive. The certification issued recently by the Environmental Protection Agency imposes even more stringent requirements.

It is worth recalling that, although Ireland has no municipal waste incinerators, ten industrial incinerators are currently licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency. If these were closed down by a ban, significant job losses would follow and foreign direct investment would be adversely affected, outcomes Deputy Morgan and his party would not welcome. The nine such incinerators which operated in 2000 when the agency carried out its inventory of dioxin emissions were estimated to contribute a tiny fraction of such emissions nationally. A 2010 projection, which assumed the operation of a number of large scale municipal waste incinerators, suggested they would account for less than 2% of dioxin emissions to air.

I am confident there are no grounds to impose a blanket ban on incineration. I am also satisfied that incineration with energy recovery operating to modern standards and using best available technology has an important role to play within an integrated waste management approach.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister accept that many scientists reject incineration as a flawed process which results in the emission of some of the most dangerous, toxic dioxins known to humankind? Does he agree the incineration industry has been given an easy ride here because the Minister crumbles to its every whim? I asked him a specific question about Indaver Ireland to which he has given permission to import waste to Carranstown from outside the region. This is an example of buckling to the industry.

In light of the Minister's comments, which I understand are on record, that he would not accept incineration in his constituency, how does he expect other communities, for example, in Ringaskiddy, Ringsend and Carranstown, to accept the same proposition?

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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He has changed his mind on the matter.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Would it not be preferable to take the "reduce, reuse, recycle" approach, which involves educating the wider community to move away from the poisonous incineration process?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Regrettably, there is no zero waste option. While remarkable progress has been made in the area of waste reduction and recycling, this will not solve the waste problem and it is fatuous for the Deputy to suggest otherwise. If Deputies Morgan or McCormack wish to check the record, they will learn that I stated that if I were asked to tolerate a very large landfill or a well run modern incinerator, I would choose the latter.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The Minister got rid of the former.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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That is not the statement which has been attributed to the Minister.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Did I say it the wrong way around?

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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The cat is out of the bag.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I would much prefer to live next door to an incinerator than a dump.

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Does that mean the Minister is in favour of an incinerator in County Wicklow?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As I stated, if the choice was between one or the other——

Pádraic McCormack (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Minister should leave dumps out of the equation.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Morgan also asked whether there is scientific opinion to support his hypothesis that a blanket ban on incineration would be a positive development. While that may well be the case, there is also a vast preponderance of scientific evidence to suggest the type of blanket ban the Deputy proposes would be economically untenable, result in the closure of several important industries here and would not solve the long-term problem of our waste stream.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister at least accept a moratorium on the development of incinerators, pending a further investigation into the scientific, environmental and health consequences of such a disastrous, poisonous process?

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I can think of many disastrous, poisonous processes which might by closer to home in the Deputy's case than incineration.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Such as.

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The answer to the Deputy's question is "no".