The chairman of Dundalk Urban District Council, Mr Pearse O'Hanrahan (FF), has rejected suggestions that he would try to influence a vote by Louth county councillors on a draft waste management plan. The vote, next Monday, is on whether to adopt a plan for the north-east which includes provision for thermal treatment.
Mr O'Hanrahan is a consultant with Thermolink, an Irish partner of the Swiss company, Thermoselect, which is engaged in gasification, a form of thermal treatment, in other EU countries. He has denied a conflict of interest.
Last week Louth County Council held a workshop on incineration, where opposing views on the issue were expressed. Mr O'Hanrahan asked to be allowed to make a presentation to councillors about a gasification plant they visited this year, but was refused. He was permitted only to take part in a question-and-answer session.
Yesterday he denied using his position within Fianna Fail or as an elected representative to influence other councillors.
"Let anyone produce, anywhere, any member of Fianna Fail I have tried to influence. From day one I was so aware of what certain people could claim that I made a conscious decision to declare my interest," he said.
The campaign group, Louth People Against Incineration, said it would be monitoring the "influential behaviour of those councillors who favour a waste management plan that includes incineration".
Mr O'Hanrahan noted he was not a member of Louth County Council and therefore could not vote on the plan.
Meanwhile, Mr Terry Brennan (FG) confirmed he would resubmit a motion at Monday's meeting that the draft plan be accepted without the inclusion of thermal treatment. Louth is the last county in the north-east not to have decided on the plan. Councils in Meath, Monaghan and Cavan have already approved it.