Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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It is 15 years since the Poolbeg incinerator was proposed. This saga has run for the same length of time as did the Mahon tribunal. For 15 years a local community has feared construction of this incinerator. The contract was at review stage up to end February. This was further extended to 31 August. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, will be aware that €80 million has already been spent on this project, which equates to approximately €5 million per annum since it was first proposed by Dublin City Council. A further €9 million was spent this year on the purchase of land and additional consultation fees.

I welcome the news that the local government audit service will provide a full report of the cost exposure to the Committee of Public Accounts. However, this is too little too late. The money has been spent and a bad contract remains in place. The original contract was for construction of 600,000 tonne incinerator, which is too big for current and projected needs. According to the Hennessy report, a put or pay clause means that Dublin City Council must provide 320 tonnes per year to the incinerator or face fines of €350 million. This has left citizens of this country exposed to fines for a contract from which they, through their democratically elected representatives, were shut out while public servants tried to cover their past mistakes through changes to the law. The council can no longer deliver waste to this monster and thus changes to the law to end side-by-side competition and make the council the owner of the waste stream, which is constitutionally dubious, have been proposed. This uncertainty is putting private sector jobs at risk. Rather than continue to jump through hoops we should scrap the project and bring certainty to the waste market.

I welcome the move by Mr. Joseph McCarthy and Ms Valerie Jenkins to file a complaint about this contract with the EU Commission. It is clear that Dublin City Council has breached EU public procurement in terms of its awarding of the contract on the Poolbeg Peninsula to Covanta Energy. Mr. McCarthy also highlighted the waste in respect of the voting machines but was not listened to. He has undertaken extensive research in respect of this incinerator. Whether we can continue with this incinerator is highly questionable. Former Minister, Mr. Roche, signed the contract for this incinerator before he left office. To his credit former Minister, John Gormley, did his best to prevent it going ahead.

I know the Minister of State has with him a well prepared script from the Department. I ask that he request the Minister to re-examine this contract, which is not working and will result in great cost to the taxpayer. I ask also that he ensure the Minister is not captured by his civil servants and re-examines this contract over the coming weeks. The opportunity exists to prevent further costs to the taxpayer.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan.

The Poolbeg project is provided for in the Dublin regional waste management plan for which the four Dublin local authorities have statutory responsibility under the Waste Management Acts. The facility is being advanced by Dublin City Council, acting on behalf of the Dublin local authorities by way of a public private partnership with Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd, a joint venture of Covanta Energy and DONG Energy Generation A/S Denmark.

The project received planning approval from An Bord Pleanála in November 2007 and was granted a waste license from the EPA in December 2008. The facility is intended to recover energy from residual waste and is to have a capacity of 600,000 tonnes per annum. In accordance with the provisions of the Waste Management Acts, the preparation and adoption of a waste management plan, including in respect of infrastructure provision, is the statutory responsibility of the local authority or authorities concerned and under section 60(3) of the Act the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to the performance by a local authority, in particular circumstances, of a statutory function vested in it.

Mr. John Hennessy, SC, was appointed under section 224 of the Local Government Act 2001 as an authorised person to examine potential financial risks associated with the Poolbeg project within a given set of scenarios. Mr. Hennessy had access to a full range of commercial documents. In June 2011, the Minister published the report prepared by Mr. Hennessy on the Poolbeg project. He did so to ensure that as much information as possible is available to the public, while respecting the confidential nature of information provided to Mr. Hennessy to compile his report. The report, as published, was, therefore, redacted to protect commercially sensitive information. At the time of publication I indicated that much had changed since the report was commissioned and that there will be further changes as he finalises a new waste policy. Mr. Hennessy provided a very good report but was working within a set of scenarios which had been narrowly defined for him, which somewhat restricted the applicability of the report. Having consulted Government colleagues, the Minister concluded that there was no national waste policy justification for intervening in the matter and that decisions in regard to the project are a matter for the two parties to the contract, Dublin City Council and Covanta Limited.

The Minister understands that the parties to the contract in respect of the Poolbeg facility are in a period of review. Queries concerning the status of discussions, contract terms and costs of the project should be directed to the city council and its partners in the project.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I am sorry the same old answer has come from the Department. I accept that much has changed since this project was conceived 15 years ago. We are in a period of review. The local authorities cannot be allowed to run on this issue. Much has changed. The Environmental Protection Agency's report on the waste market shows the national waste recycling rate is 40%. It is 46% in the Dublin region. Since 2009, the volume of waste going to landfill has decreased by 13%. It is estimated that there is enough landfill capacity for 12 years. Therefore, no urgency is associated with the Poolbeg incinerator. Equally, the required volume to feed it is not available. Over 650,000 tonnes of private waste recovery infrastructure has come on line in the last two or three years. That exceeds the tonnage of the Poolbeg project.

According to the SLR Consulting report that was compiled on behalf of the Irish Waste Management Association, we will comfortably reach our 2013 and 2016 targets for the diversion of biodegradable waste from landfill. The argument that has always been made is that we will not be able to reach our targets and will therefore face enormous European Union fines. The opposite is the case. We are reaching our targets comfortably. We have rolled out brown bins to 50% of households in Dublin. The national rate of recovery of such waste increased by 3% in 2011. Approximately 900,000 tonnes of waste that currently goes to landfill is capable of being composted. A much better use of money would be to encourage re-use, rather than incineration.

If we have to face EU fines, as we are always being warned about, they will be dwarfed by the substantial and unnecessary waste of money on the Poolbeg project and by the fines that will potentially result from the pay-out clause. I remind the Minister of State that the Hennessy report suggested that the fines could amount to up to €350 million. It is clear that private waste contractors will challenge any attempt to place the ownership of the waste stream in the hands of the council. In every place where side-by-side competition has been replaced by tendered routes, it has resulted in a less efficient and more expensive service for our home owners. We are constantly getting set-piece answers from the Department. I ask the Minister of State to re-examine the figures. We are opening up a huge potential cost to the taxpayer at a time when money is tight.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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We are over time.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I appreciate that an important announcement is expected. I conclude by emphasising that this needs to be reviewed at a national level.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I will bring the Deputy's comments to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Hogan. The programme for Government includes a commitment to introduce competitive tendering for household waste collection whereby service providers will bid to provide waste collection services in a given area for a given period of time and to a guaranteed level of service. The approach to the future regulation of the household waste collection market will be carefully considered by the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and his Government colleagues. It will take account of the full range of economic, environmental and other relevant issues. It will also take account of the many perspectives offered by consultants. I emphasise that in considering the regulation of household waste collection, the Minister, Deputy Hogan, will be mindful of a set of factors, including economic and environmental issues, the need for realistic and workable policy options and, critically, the availability and desirability or otherwise of various options.

These issues are not without a degree of complexity. It is not a simple matter of comparing costs. Household waste collection services are of critical importance. Wider issues of market stability and industry sustainability must be considered. The programme for Government contains a commitment to develop a coherent national waste policy that adheres to the waste hierarchy. The policy will aim to minimise waste disposal in landfill and maximise recovery. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, is prioritising this commitment and is anxious to provide early regulatory certainty. He expects to be in a position to submit final proposals on national waste policy, including the regulation of the market, in the coming weeks. The new policy will not be driven by any particular project, technology or interest group - it will be driven by what the Government judges to be in the best interests of the country.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I understand the Minister for Finance wishes to make an announcement. I will not call Deputy Fitzpatrick on the next Topical Issue until he has done so.

Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank so many Members for attending the debate on the Topical Issue I raised.

Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Labour)
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The Deputy was the warm-up act.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Poolbeg is a big issue.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thought for a moment that Deputy Humphreys was going to get a standing ovation.