Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I ask those in the Visitors Gallery to be quiet, please. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I also welcome the Minister of State. The matter I wish to raise relates to the current waste processing facility at Churchfield in Cork which has been in operation for a number of years. In fairness, the operator of the facility has been providing a very valuable service for residents in Cork city and surrounding areas. However, the volume of waste at the facility which is located in an industrial estate that is not being processed has increased substantially in the past 12 months as a result of the fact that the operator has acquired a number of smaller waste companies.

It is right in the middle of a residential area. It is continuing to cause concerns for the residents with regard to the odour in the area from the facility and the risk to health. Some of these estates in the immediate area are new housing estates, such as Willowbank, which is one of the biggest estates near it. One group of ten private houses backs onto the facility. All of them have young families and there is a health risk to the families. In 2004, planning permission was granted to Cork County Council to develop a landfill facility in Bottlehill, Cork, which is a number of miles from the city. It is a well-developed facility but is not a waste processing facility. It was built to deal with landfill. The construction of five landfill cells, an office building, a maintenance building and stormwater ponds and infrastructure including holding tanks, a site road network, a car park, security fencing and weighbridges was carried out at a total cost of €48 million, between acquiring land and building road infrastructure, but it is lying idle. A facility dealing with waste processing is now in the middle of a residential area.

I ask for a joint approach between the Department, the county council, the city council and private contractors to work towards the use of the facility built at a cost to taxpayers and the moving of waste processing facilities. I am not necessarily saying that it should be moved to the site in Bottlehill but a suitable location should be identified for the contractors to deal with this matter.

What is in place cannot be allowed to continue. One of the concerns of the residents is that the value of their houses has decreased by 50%. They could not sell their houses if they put them on the market. This needs to be dealt with at an early stage.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue and allowing me the opportunity to reply today on behalf of Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. I am happy to clarify the matter.
Planning for the provision of waste management facilities forms part of a waste management plan. The preparation and adoption of a waste management plan, including decisions on the provision or operation of particular waste infrastructure, is the statutory responsibility of the local authority or authorities concerned taking into account local circumstances. The Government has no role in this area. Indeed, under section 60(3) of the 1996 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. Any decision to operate or not operate Bottlehill landfill is therefore a matter for Cork County Council.
Similarly, any question of making a suitable site available to accommodate waste processing facilities is also the sole responsibility of the local authorities concerned and all queries in either case should be directed to Cork City Council or Cork County Council, as appropriate. The Government's role generally and the role of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, specifically in relation to waste management is to provide a comprehensive legislative and waste policy framework through which the relevant regulatory bodies, such as the local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency, operate. In this regard, my Department published A Resource Opportunity - Waste Management Policy in Ireland in July 2012, setting out a range of measures which will significantly revise the current regulatory regime to ensure, inter alia, that waste collected is managed in accordance with the waste hierarchy as set out in the waste framework directive, whereby prevention, reuse, recycling and recovery are favoured over the disposal of waste.
The policy encompasses measures covering the full spectrum of waste management planning, compliance and enforcement and provides a solid basis for the achievement of a more sustainable approach to waste management in this country. It is this policy approach, based on the waste hierarchy, rather than favouring one project over another, that must guide the development of diversified, indigenous waste treatment capacity. Ireland has been very successful in reducing its reliance on disposal to landfill over recent years. Further targets for reduction under the landfill directive will require that we build on this progress. At the same time, we have become reliant on the export of our waste with significant quantities being shipped abroad for treatment, often through incineration. We have a clear need for domestic treatment capacity and the Government's waste policy provides a framework within which the industry can develop over the medium term. This will give us control over our waste, control over a valuable resource and the scope to support and create jobs.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for the reply but I am quite disappointed because this is a facility that cost €48 million and it is lying idle. All that I am asking is that the Department communicates with the city and county councils about the facility in a residential area. The last sentence of the reply refers to giving us control over a valuable resource and the scope to support and create jobs. A facility in the middle of a residential area is causing major problems to the residents and the Department has a responsibility. While the Department did not directly fund the cost of the landfill facility in Bottlehill, it was borrowed money and the debt is being serviced by the local authorities. I am open to correction but the cost of servicing it comes from the ratepayers and taxpayers in the country. The Department and the Government still have responsibility to ensure every cent spent is used wisely and in the proper manner. I am not convinced.

In fairness to Cork County Council, it has issued a request for information about engaging with private enterprise. This includes waste separation and recycling facilities. This invites the private sector to make submissions. Each solution proposed must include, as a minimum, the financing of any works required to deliver a proposed solution. The solution proposed may include, but is not restricted to, the solutions listed, which includes waste separation and recycling facilities. With regard to the use of the facility at Bottlehill, the Minister should communicate with the relevant local authorities to see whether we can progress the matter and resolve two problems at once.

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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I understand the Senator's concerns, particularly with the level of public funding that has gone into providing the infrastructure. I must also reiterate my obligation. The statutory responsibilities lie with local authorities, Cork County Council in this case. It is a statutory function of the local authority and the Government and the Department are precluded from interfering or exercising any power over the local authority in a case such as this. The Government must take account of the national waste framework directive where we propose sustainable waste management policy based on the hierarchy of reduce, reuse and recycle. If he wishes, the Senator can ask the relevant local authority to outline the plans it has for the infrastructure or make a submission to the Department. I cannot make any promises or commitments in that regard.