Liam Quaide (Cork East, Social Democrats)
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104. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline his Department's policy on the building of new incinerator facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59732/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (WAPCE) sets out an overall policy and regulatory approach to support the development of adequate and appropriate treatment capacity at indigenous facilities to ensure that the full circularity and resource potential of materials is captured in Ireland.

The Regional Waste Management Planning Offices launched a new National Waste Management Plan (NWMP) in 2024 which sets out the required actions at local and regional levels to deliver on the WAPCE and support Ireland's circular economy transition. This includes several specific actions to address domestic waste treatment infrastructure challenges.

While these combined measures are intended to maximise the volume of waste materials which are reused or recycled, there is a continuing need to ensure there is sufficient treatment capacity to manage the residual waste fractions which cannot be reused or recycled.

Thermal treatment at waste-to-energy facilities, which sits on the recovery tier of the waste hierarchy, will continue to be preferred to disposal at landfills. This is recognised in the NWMP which recommends the provision of an additional 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes of thermal recovery capacity for the treatment of residual waste. This is also reflected in the current Programme for Government commitment to assess the need for a new waste-to-energy facility.

The WAPCE will be updated in 2026 to ensure that it aligns with and drives the implementation of the new Circular Economy Strategy which will be published shortly. The updated WAPCE will inform and give direction to waste planning and management in Ireland, the delivery of appropriate infrastructure, and how we can enhance our capacity to transform waste into secondary materials and create a culture of circular behaviour.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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105. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his Department plans to remediate former landfill sites throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60241/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The remediation of legacy landfills is a statutory responsibility of local authorities under the Waste Management Act. The roadmap for delivery of the landfill remediation programme is set out in the local government’s National Waste Management Plan 2024-2030.

Over the last two decades, the department has been administering a grant scheme to support local government in delivering on this obligation for site risk assessment and capital remediation costs. The funding allocation in 2025 for the landfill remediation programme is €18m supporting almost 120 projects through different stages of environmental risk assessment, regularisation and final remediation works.

A National Landfill Remediation Joint Steering Group, established in 2019, meets quarterly to facilitate discussions on the allocation of funding for individual projects. This collaboration ensures that local authorities have the necessary resources to undertake complex and costly remediation projects. The National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2030 outlines Ireland’s commitment to investing in remediating legacy sites through the Landfill Remediation programme with €30million allocated to the programme for 2026.

The management of these sites is regulated by the Waste Management (Certification of Historic Unlicenced Waste Disposal and Recovery Activity) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 524 of 2008). To assist this process, the EPA prepared a Code of Practice on ‘Environmental Risk Assessment for Unregulated Waste Disposal Sites’ in 2007.

The Kerdiffstown remediation project is a landmark example of successful landfill transformation. Once a severely contaminated waste site, it has subsequently been transformed into an environmentally restored public amenity. The Department has provided over €60 million in remediation funding to this site since 2011.