The south-east would have a waste incinerator imposed on the region if the Waste Management (Amendment) Bill is passed, a Wexford lobby group has claimed.
The New Ross-based Research And Information Group says the Bill gives "dictatorial power" to county and city managers and will leave councillors with a "purely ceremonial role" if it is adopted.
The Bill proposes to remove responsibility for waste management from elected representatives and give it to county and city managers. The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, told the Seanad this month that the Bill was necessary to implement waste management plans.
The New Ross group, now operating as RAIG Ltd, describes the provisions as draconian. "It will lead to an incinerator and an accompanying dump for hazardous ash being located in this area in the next four to six years. This is despite the fact that in January 2000 Wexford County Council rejected incineration, and the regional waste strategy that was promoting it, by 19 votes to one," it said in a statement.
It says it has obtained legal advice that the proposed legislation would oblige the county manager to rescind the Wexford council's decision "and thus pave the way for the implementation of the regional incinerator plan".
The group says Section 4, Subsection 10 (c) of the Bill compels managers to alter or rescind any waste management decisions or plans which do not adhere to current regional waste management plans, all of which promote incineration.
It is particularly critical of the proposal to allow county managers to grant permission for a waste facility even when this conflicts with a county or city development plan. "This means that communities will have no means to influence developments that will seriously impact on their environments."
Mr Dempsey told the Seanad that this provision was necessary "to fireproof what I am doing in giving the manager the power to adopt the waste development plans".
RAIG Ltd says it is the first time that local responsibility for county development plans has been tampered with. "County councillors, and the public they represent, are being robbed of their ultimate influence over county development while this dictatorial power is handed over to unelected managers."
The group, which was formed in 1999 in response to a proposal to locate an incinerator at the Great Island power station, says it has contacted all Wexford TDs asking them to oppose the Bill.
The Bill was also criticised yesterday by another anti-incineration organisation in the south-east, the Waterford-Kilkenny Waste Study Group. It claimed the legislation was part of a strategy to impose landfills and incinerators on people.
The group's chairman, Mr Paul Fitton, said the Bill also set a dangerous precedent. "It's decisions on waste management now, but who knows what further powers will be taken from our councillors in future?"
Contact number
Readers who wish to contact Chris Dooley can leave messages by dialling 01-6707711, extension 6298; e-mail address: cdooley@irish-times.ie