Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 575: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he has received correspondence of 9 October 2006 from the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment on the matter of the proposed Ringaskiddy incinerator; if he will respond to their concerns in detail; and if he will meet with them to discuss their concerns. [32698/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Correspondence dated 9 October 2006 has been received from the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment on the matter of the proposed incinerator in Ringaskiddy, County Cork and a response is now issuing.

As previously indicated, I have not considered it appropriate to meet with the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment as the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is precluded from exercising any power in relation to matters over which the Environmental Protection Agency and/or An Bord Pleanála have jurisdiction. In this regard I have been a staunch defender of the independence of the planning appeals and EPA licensing processes which moreover commands wide public support. In those circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to get involved in a particular case such as this.