James Heffernan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. There was confusion within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government yesterday when I proposed this item. It did not understand whether it came under its remit or that of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. That says it all about this gasification technology, that senior people in Departments are unaware of it. I tried, through the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which provides a fantastic service, to get a bit of information on this and the Government’s position on it but it could not provide much. My own research has found international examples.

It is of huge concern, especially to the people of west Limerick but also throughout the county. I do not want to see my county being treated as a dump. People have had to live next door to Gortadroma for the past 20 years and the local authority was well aware of the problems associated with it. If the Minister of State drives around the area she will see shells of houses which people have left. The property is worthless. Those people had to leave the area. Having put up with that over all those years, the communities are now expected to lie down and take this huge gasification unit which will be built on their doorstep.

The justification for this is that it will be a terrific economic driver in the area which will create a heap of jobs, that the council will get a huge sum in rent - the figure quoted ranges between €3 million and €5 million per year - and that everything is hunky-dory with this. That is not the feeling of the people in the area. It is my duty and that of every public representative to represent the public but that has not happened in this instance. It is one year since the amalgamation of Limerick County and City Councils. The Putting People First document, published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, is the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard in respect of issues such as this because people have not been put first in this instance, quite the contrary. Many of these decisions were made clandestinely. Councillors from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Independent Fianna Fáil in the municipal district talked about this and came to the conclusion that it was a good idea. They went back to their party groups in the council with the disposal notice when it was agreed at municipal district level and a decision was taken at the full council meeting, which was a rubber-stamping job.

Council meetings in Limerick have become a circus since the amalgamation. This was put down to teething problems but the situation has not improved at all. Issues such as this, with potentially huge effects on the people of the area, were not discussed. There was no presentation on gasification to all council members when they voted on the disposal notice. They had no clue what they were voting on. Some were duped into voting on this. It is not good enough that the council has conducted itself in this way and manipulated the systems put in place by the Department's Putting People First document so that its decisions and those of county management are put ahead of the people who voted for the councillors. I would like to hear the Minister of State’s response on where the Government stands on gasification because I have not seen where it can fit in or improve or help move Ireland towards the 2020 targets.