Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this most important issue and I welcome the Minister to the House to respond.

Over the past few weeks, the communities of north County Dublin have mobilised in an unprecedented manner to voice their resounding opposition to the proposed monster sewage treatment plant planned for the area. Fingal County Council, in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, has nominated nine potential sites in the townlands of north County Dublin for the plant. These sites are within a short distance of the heavily populated towns of Lusk, Rush, Swords, Loughshinny, Skerries, Ballyboughal and the Naul. Essentially, every town and village in Fingal is now living with the threat of having a monster sewage treatment plant constructed within its environs. We have had public meetings in Lusk, Rush and Loughshinny. Tonight I will be in Ballyboughal and I will attend meetings in Swords and Skerries next week. These were not poorly attended public meetings. There were hundreds of people in attendance with standing room only and people spilling out into corridors. Last Saturday, so many people turned up to voice their disapproval at the plans at Fingal County Council's open day for the project that the council had to put stewards in place to manage the crowd. Taken together, this demonstrates a collective rejection of this proposal by the people in north Dublin who I represent.

Why are the people so understandably outraged? There are very valid environmental considerations. The proposed monster sewage treatment plant would process up to 1,000 litres of sewage per minute from Dublin and surrounding counties. This is similar to the capacity of the Ringsend plant in Dublin. The negative impact that the Ringsend plant has had on the environment of the surrounding landscape and seascape in Dublin Bay has been well documented. The traffic created by the construction of a monster plant in north Dublin would be intolerable on the rural roads of the region. The traffic caused by the removal of the solid waste sludge from the plant once it is up and running, with some estimates stating it would require 40 trucks per hour, is also of major concern.

We must not forget that north County Dublin is a combination of towns and large rural areas which grow fruit, vegetables and flowers. Fingal is the market garden of Ireland, with 60% of our horticulture produce being grown in the area. To quote one constituent of mine who wished to have her objection read into the public record, "Who would buy food grown near a monster sewerage plant?" This is a valid point Minister and needs to be reflected upon.

North County Dublin has taken more than its fair share of projects which have had negative environmental impacts. Balleally landfill near Lusk and Rush has taken the waste of greater Dublin for almost 40 years. The Nevitt super-dump planned for the same area hangs threateningly over both communities. The Eirgrid east-west interconnector which makes landfall in Rush has and is causing upset for that community. The sub-sea gas interconnector between Loughshinny and Moffat in Scotland has caused untold problems for the people of Loughshinny.

Fingal is lacking in so much, with inadequate water infrastructure and public transport systems and today we heard that metro north has just been deferred. We need infrastructure which has a net positive effect on the region rather than just being the dumping ground for the State's problem projects. I stood with the people of Portrane and Donabate when this idea was earmarked for that area and I stand with all the people of north Dublin who oppose this proposal now. It is a costly plan, it is an environmentally negative plan, it is a flawed plan and most importantly, it is a bad plan.

This Government was elected to bring fresh ideas and impetus to this country. I ask the Minister, with his responsibility for the environment, to revisit this proposal with a view to thoroughly examining alternative approaches, including the possibility of smaller treatment plants to cope with the waste from smaller clusters of towns. A good example is the Portrane plant which will deal with the sewage needs of Portrane, Donabate, Lusk, Rush and Loughshinny. People will accept that.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this issue for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, who apologises for not being able to be here. I am aware this issue is causing a great deal of concern in the part of Dublin Deputy Ryan represents.

The Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study, published in 2005, analysed the existing drainage system in the greater Dublin area and proposed policies, strategies and projects for developing the drainage system to meet the development needs and anticipated population growth of the area for the period to 2031. This study was undertaken by Dublin City Council on behalf of the other local authorities in the area.

This study took account of the needs of the greater Dublin area, including parts of Meath and Kildare. The study took account of the needs which would be met from the proposed new wastewater treatment plants in Shanganagh, Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown and at Portrane in Fingal. Both these plants are nearing completion, with funding being provided under the water services investment programme for 2010-12.

The study examined eight possible solutions for new treatment capacity for the entire Dublin region but six were ruled out due to technical, social, economic or environmental constraints. The recommendations therefore were for capital works estimated at €2.3 billion involving an upgrade of Ringsend wastewater treatment plant to its full design capacity; a new wastewater treatment plant in North Dublin which the study referred to located in Portrane; and an orbital sewer and a series of trunk sewers.

Fingal County Council subsequently decided that certain aspects of the GDSDS should be subjected to a strategic environmental assessment. The SEA assessed 16 strategic drainage options for the greater Dublin area and involved a public consultation phase. The recommended strategy arising from the SEA is that a new regional wastewater treatment plant be built in the northern greater Dublin area and that the outfall should be located along the north Dublin coastline following a detailed site selection process. The location of the new plant is to be determined based on the site selection criteria set out in the environmental report of the SEA.

Fingal County Council has now engaged consultants to prepare a preliminary report for the scheme, including the site selection process. The council is currently engaging in an non-statutory public consultation on the site selection process, with consultation period due to draw to a close next week, on 18 November.

The Minister's main role in water services projects is to provide capital funding for the work through the Department's water services investment programme and he may in the future have a statutory role should there be a requirement for a foreshore licence for a project. It would therefore be inappropriate for him to engage in discussions which might prejudice his statutory role.

Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
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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.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I will pass the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. The note I have makes it clear that additional wastewater facilities are needed for the Dublin area in the medium to long-term. It is also clear that despite the downturn generally, the population of Fingal has shown strong growth and the area will require further additional wastewater facilities in the coming decades to meet demographic and enterprise needs. The strategic environmental assessment process, including public consultation, examined the issue of the number of treatment plants that should be constructed and determined the optimum solution was to provide one plant. I know the Deputy disagrees with that and I will pass his objections to the Minister.

It is worth noting that the project will require planning permission, which will be subject to an environmental impact assessment and may require a foreshore licence. Each of these has a statutory public consultation element to it so it would not be appropriate for the Minister to engage in discussions directly that might prejudice his role in that process. I will highlight to the Minister the strength of the arguments put forward by Deputy Ryan on behalf of his constituents and ask him to revert to the Deputy directly in respect of this matter.