The Opposition has accused the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, of adopting a contradictory stance over the location of an incinerator in his constituency in Cork. Mr Martin has said that he was always opposed to building an incinerator in Ringaskiddy, but he insisted he still supported the Government's waste management policy.
Neither the Minister nor the other two Fianna Fáil TDs in Cork South Central will be attending a public meeting tonight in Ringaskiddy, where local residents are expected to express anger at the decision to sanction the plant by An Bord Pleanála.
The incinerator was given the green light last week, despite the reservations of one of the board's own senior planning officers. The board cited the Government's waste policy in its decision to give the go-ahead to the plant.
Labour's environment spokesman, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said Mr Martin appeared to be telling one thing to his constituents while taking the opposite position in Dublin.
"It's classic double-speak. You can't cry crocodile tears to your constituents over something that is the logical outcome of Government policy," Mr Gilmore said.
"There's a total contradiction. You can't be telling people back in your constituency that you're against it and that you're for it in Dublin. There's no doubt that the board is taking its riding instructions from the Government. They're not going to buck that policy."
Fine Gael's environment spokesman, Mr Bernard Allen, said Mr Martin's stance was "totally and utterly unsatisfactory". He added: "It's a 'Tadhg an dha thaoibh' approach to a controversial issue like waste policy." Mr Allen noted that the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, and the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, had made it clear that Government policy favoured incineration.
A Cork TD himself, Mr Allen said people in the city were "very displeased" with the decision by An Bord Pleanála.
Mr Martin's spokeswoman said he had not received an invitation to attend tonight's public meeting of Ringaskiddy Residents' Association at the community centre in Ringaskiddy.
She said the Minister would be in Brussels to address the European Parliament this afternoon and would not return until tomorrow. She defended the Minister's position. "While he has always expressed personal reservations about the site, it has gone through the independent planning process." Mr Martin had met with the Cork Harbour Area for a Safe Environment group (CHASE) and would be willing to meet them again, she said.
Members of CHASE are threatening to run candidates in the local election in June to protest at the decision by An Bord Pleanála. They say that many people in Cork are "furious" at the decision.
The two other Fianna Fáil TDs in the constituency, Mr Batt O'Keeffe and Mr John Dennehy, said they would both be in Leinster House tomorrow on Dáil business. Mr O'Keeffe said he had been invited to the meeting. He defended Mr Martin's stance, saying there was a distinction between the local application of a Government policy and the policy itself.
He also said the decision raised questions about the independence of An Bord Pleanála. There had to be confidence that the board would take views of its own planning officers into account when assessing projects.
Mr Dennehy said early yesterday that he had not been invited to the meeting. While concerned about the decision, he did not think there was any requirement to change the Government's waste management policy "in the broad sense".