James Bannon (Fine Gael)

When it was closed down we had no communication from the Department of the Environment and Local Government to explain the situation and public representatives felt let down. Many of the representatives returned home with the view that the facility was state-of-the-art and that we should have something similar in Ireland. However, their confidence in the system was undermined when the facility closed down. Nothing has yet been done by the Department – not even so much as a press release has been issued – to communicate information about the closure. However, if I attend a public meeting or visit a community development association and this issue arises, the incident to which I refer is mentioned. We can say that it was just a trial run, but why were public representatives brought to inspect a facility and told on the day they visited it that it was the modern way to dispose of waste? That issue must be addressed because councillors are totally frustrated by the way in which they were treated.

What happened gives the impression that similar facilities around the world can close down and this impression means less emphasis is put on recycling. No effort will then be made to recycle because such facilities need to be fed with waste to become viable. That is a big concern for the public.