Dan Boyle (Green Party)

With regard to the request for a debate on waste management and incineration, I would be pleased if the House were to hold such a debate. It may be of interest to Senators to note that statements made in the other House yesterday arose from a natural confusion between 400,000 tonnes of waste and the construction of four incinerators. As the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, indicated in the House last week, two thermal treatment plants may be required if the 400,000 tonnes of waste produced cannot be dealt with by other means by 2016. These plants could be incinerators or another type of thermal treatment facility. This position remains Government policy.