Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 684: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has laid down criteria in respect of the location of landfill sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30639/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The selection of locations for landfill sites is a matter for local authorities as part of their waste management planning role. All local authorities have made local and regional waste management plans which evaluate and identify the need for specific waste management infrastructure, and address considerations relevant to the location of facilities.

Landfills, and other significant waste management facilities, are subject to stringent physical planning and environmental licensing regimes which are the statutory responsibility of local planning authorities and-or An Bord Pleanála and, in the case of waste licences, the Environmental Protection Agency. The waste licensing system is intended to ensure the application of high environmental standards in relation to the development, operation, closure and aftercare of such facilities. There is a very high degree of transparency and public involvement in both the planning and licensing processes, and all relevant information, including any environmental impact assessment, is available to the public. The EPA has also published a series of manuals on the preparation, operation and aftercare of landfills.