Dublin City Council's decision to formally enter into a contract with its private sector partner, Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd, to construct and operate the proposed Poolbeg incinerator in Dublin's Ringsend has been criticised by Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe.
The council's application for the controversial incinerator, which would burn 600,000 tonnes of waste annually, remains before An Bord Pleanála which is expected to make a decision on the project next month.
Ciarán Cuffe, Green Party TD
GreenParty TD for Dun Laoghaire Ciarán Cuffe said he was "concerned that Council officials are attempting to pre-empt An Bord Pleanála's decision on the Poolbeg incinerator by making numerous financial commitments and guarantees before approval for the plant has even been granted."
"Dublin City Councillors don't want incineration. The Minister for the Environment doesn't want it. And the people of Dublin don't want it - they would much prefer to recycle their waste than have it burnt. I am therefore angry and mystified that unelected Council officials are pushing this project so strongly."
In a statement today, the council said it had successfully completed negotiations with Dublin Waste to Energy Ltd, the successor to Elsam Ireland Ltd - the original successful bidder for the public private partnership contract.
As a result, the council said, it had entered into a contract with the company to design, build, finance and operate the proposed Dublin Waste to Energy Plant at the Poolbeg Peninsula.
Assistant city manager Matt Twomey said the move was another milestone in the Ringsend project which has been ongoing since the late 1990s.
The council hopes that generating energy from the estimated up to 600,000 tonnes annually will provide electricity for 50,000 homes and district heating for a further 60,000 homes.
"When the Dublin Waste Plan achieves its ambitious targets of 59 per cent recycling and the amount of waste going to landfill is reduced from the current 70 per cent to just 16 per cent, there will still be 25 per cent of Dublin's waste remaining that has to be managed," the council said.
Minister for Environment John Gormley recently cast doubt on the future of incinerators in Ireland, saying he favoured a levy on all waste sent for incineration.
Incinerator developers contend that the current €15 per tonne levy imposed on waste sent to landfill should be significantly increased so as to an increase in the waste sent for burning.
Mr Gormley, who is also a TD in the Dublin south east constituency, was one of the strongest opponents of the project during his time in Opposition and was one of more than 2,000 individuals or environmental groups who lodged objections to the application with Bord Pleanála last October.
An Bord Pleanála has already granted planning permission for two incinerators in Co Meath and in Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.