Two Ulster Unionist MLAs have spoken out against proposals to locate what would be the Republic's first municipal waste incinerator in Carranstown, Co Meath.
Assembly members Mr Billy Armstrong and Mr Ken Robinson visited the site yesterday and met representatives of the Battle for the Boyne group, whose members were the first to raise concerns with UNESCO about the suitability of the location for such a project.
The Battle for the Boyne group says Carranstown is too close to the Battle of the Boyne site and the Boyne Valley, which UNESCO has already declared a World Heritage Site.
A UNESCO delegation arrives in Ireland tomorrow for a three-day visit on foot of complaints they received about the €85 million incinerator, for which Indaver Ireland got planning permission last year.
They will meet officials from the Department of the Environment, the Office of Public Works, Meath County Council and representatives of groups opposed to the incinerator.
Indaver Ireland will also meet the UNESCO delegation.
The company said it believed the incinerator would not have any impact on the Boyne Valley, as it would be outside the lands designated part of the World Heritage Site.
The Ulster Unionist Assembly members said: "The World Heritage Site at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley, together with extensive lands connected to the Battle of the Boyne, create a critical mass of historical interest and influence which surpass anything else on this island."
They argued that the tourist potential of the area was immense and, if handled properly, "could contribute to a greater understanding of the forces which have shaped all of our traditions".
They are to contact the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and will request him, while Ireland holds the EU presidency, to ask UNESCO to link the Battle of the Boyne site to the Boyne Valley site, to form "a comprehensive location that can effectively portray a time line through history on this island".