Madam, - The decision by the Environmental Protection Agency to license the Cork and Meath incinerators is a deeply painful though not unexpected disappointment for all those who have sought a waste and resource management strategy that was truly sustainable and environmentally protective.
In the context of Kyoto and of the beneficial modern alternatives presented at the relevant oral hearings, no case for the necessity or advisability of this obsolescent technology has been established. Indeed, the decision is contrary to all transparent argument so far conducted in the public domain, including the excellent debates hosted by Trinity College and UCC. The apparently arbitrary nature of the decision renders it unjust and unacceptable. Moreover, it increases a widespread lack of confidence in the EPA.
Would Minister Roche or Dr Mary Kelly have the courage of their convictions and themselves engage in open debate to justify the granting of this licence? We believe that the Cork and Meath communities deserve nothing less. - Yours, etc,
R.F. CARGIN, Kinsale Environment Watch, Kinsale, Co Cork.