Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the names of all companies, other private organisations and public organisations that made representations to him supporting a change in the proximity principle relating to waste treatment facilities; the principal arguments of each organisation; the number of incidences of correspondence received by him from each organisation; the number of times he or a representative from his Department met each organisation named. [5296/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I have not met either of the companies referred to in the question regarding the movement of waste since I came into office in September 2004. My Department's records show that my predecessor met two private sector companies — Greenstar and Indaver — to discuss a range of waste management policy issues, including significant discussion of the interpretation of the regional waste boundaries. These meetings took place in October 2003 and January 2004.

The Environmental Protection Agency in its 2001 waste database report recommended that the inter-regional movement and treatment of waste "should be provided for . . . in appropriate circumstances". Similar submissions have been made by others, including the Irish Waste Management Association.

The Government's waste management policy statement, Taking Stock and Moving Forward — 2004, recognised that the prohibition on all inter-regional movements of waste could be unduly restrictive in terms of securing the development of waste infrastructure and the objectives of local authority waste management plans. Last year I therefore issued a ministerial direction under section 60 of the Waste Management Act to recognise and facilitate the need for inter-regional movement of waste where that supported the rational implementation of Government waste management policy. This was to prevent a situation arising whereby it would be legal to export waste to continental Europe or even China for treatment but not across county boundaries within Ireland. Strict adherence to waste region boundaries could mean that counties such as Wicklow, which have suffered as a result of the import of thousands of tonnes of illegal waste, would be unable to re-export such illegal waste to facilities elsewhere in the country.

I considered that such a situation was completely contrary to the environmental proximity principle and logic and that it would have been irrational to let such a situation continue. Sound environmental policy requires a more flexible approach and that was what my policy direction aims to achieve.