In its submission to the oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into objections to the proposed waste-management plant close to the Louth/Meath border, Indaver Ireland says that its facility, which includes incineration, complies with European, national and regional policy on waste management.
The inspector conducting the hearing, Mr James Carroll, refused to hear submissions from a number of objectors on the grounds that they were related to environmental matters, which he said should be dealt with by the Environmental Protection Agency in another forum.
At the conclusion of evidence presented by the No Incineration Alliance (NIA), Mr Carroll heard an argument by barrister Mr Michael O'Donnell that there was a conflict between Irish and European law on what should be considered in deciding such a planning application.
Mr O'Donnell said that if the board upheld the permission the development would be allowed to begin before an Environmental Impact Statement could be considered. European directives stipulated that an EIS should be carried out and that such issues should by addressed in advance of any consent/permission being issued. As such, the current process was flawed, he added.
This was countered by Mr Gareth Fitzsimons, for Indaver, who denied that there had been any breach of EU law by the company.
The facility has been proposed for a 10-hectare site at Carranstown, between Drogheda and Navan. According to Mr Tom Phillips, consultant planner for Indaver, it would be a strategic resource for the north-east and would have a crucial regional role in the "safe disposal and treatment of waste".
Earlier, the hearing heard from Mr Brian Hanratty, of NIA, that an incinerator "could do more damage to Drogheda and its environs than Oliver Cromwell ever did".
A recent incident in which dioxin had been emitted by an Indaver-owned incinerator in Antwerp, Belgium, was also referred to by Mr Hanratty, who quoted a company press release as stating: "In \ worst-case scenario, 0.6 (zero point six) grammes of dioxins was emitted." The press release had gone on to state that this was "fifty times above the statutory limit".
Mr Ollan Herr, of Louth People Against Incineration, said that there were concerns about heavy metals which remained in the bottom layer of ash after the incineration process.
Father Seán McDonagh was asked to restrict his submission to matters within the remit of the hearing when he spoke about the ethics of waste management and said: "Incineration canonises and supports everything wrong with our current destructive way of living. This is fine if we are the last generation on this planet."
Indaver told the hearing that its EIS had examined the impact of the development on traffic, archaeology and flora and fauna and had found that it would not have any significant effect.
Meath County Council concluded its submission to the hearing yesterday by saying that it agreed with Indaver's EIS, which maintained that the development would not impact significantly on the road network in the area.
The hearing continues.