Written answers

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

Department of Environment, Community and Local Government

Waste Management

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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515. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the meetings or other contacts he or his officials have had with the Dublin local authorities in advance of their recent proposal to revive the Poolbeg national waste incinerator project.​ [35831/14]

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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516. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the basis in national waste policy for the proposal by the four Dublin local authorities to develop an incinerator to meet national waste management needs, rather than the needs of the Dublin region as originally envisaged; if a regional approach to waste management has been abandoned by the Government; and if an amendment to the Waste Management Act 2004 is required as a consequence. [35832/14]

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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517. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his stated ambition to move Dublin towards zero waste through a pay-by-weight system is in direct conflict with the proposal by the four Dublin local authorities to develop a national waste incinerator at Poolbeg, given that the business case for this proposal requires waste volumes to increase or recycling to be capped at 50%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35833/14]

Photo of Alan KellyAlan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 515 to 517, inclusive, together.

The Dublin Waste to Energy (DWTE) Project is part of the implementation of the Dublin Region Waste Management Plan and development of the facility is an objective of the existing regional waste management plan for the Dublin region. In accordance with the provisions of the Waste Management Act 1996, the preparation and adoption of a waste management plan, including in respect of infrastructure provision, is the statutory responsibility of the local authority or authorities concerned. Under section 60(3) of the Act, as Minister, I am 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.

In view of the DWTE project's status as a prospective public private partnership, my Department, together with the National Development Finance Agency, has been represented on the project board chaired by Dublin City Council and attended the most recent meeting of the board in August. In terms of other engagement in recent weeks, my Department received a number of updates from the City Council, particularly in relation to the process by which the Chief Executives were to seek the views of the elected members of the four authorities.

Regional waste management planning remains a key feature of the Government's waste policy, A Resource Opportunity, published in 2012. Among the measures which will play an important role in the effective and efficient delivery of waste management services is the rationalisation in the number of waste management planning regions from ten to three. The three new Waste Management Planning Regions have been designated and tasked with developing new plans for the three Waste Management Planning Regions, for adoption next year.

In relation to the alignment between my objectives as Minister and the requirements of the facility in question, my role is to provide a comprehensive legislative and waste policy framework through which local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency operate. National waste policy – including the proposed reforms that I recently announced in relation to the collection of household waste – is, in line with EU policy and legislation, based on application of the waste hierarchy, rather than on any one individual project.

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