Sir, - The government has divided the country into regions to organise the waste management administration and facilities in a manner similar to the health regions. Consultants were employed to provide recommendations for each region's waste management strategy and they came up with what I believe are flawed plans. They put incineration before the three Rs: reduction, recycling, reuse..
The county councils were asked to adopt these plans, with incineration hidden in language that included recycling, reduction, and all the desirable waste management options. Most of them passed these recommendations in their own areas, but others looked closer, and refused to approve what they saw as a Bill to introduce municipal waste incineration. The Department of the Environment put them under massive pressure to reconsider and accept its plan, using finance and the lack of available landfills as the motivation.
Louth and Galway are currently stopping the North-East and Connacht, plans from being introduced. The Minister for the Environment, my local TD, Mr Noel Dempsey, is not prepared to change to allow the unelected county or city managers to overthrow the decision of their respective elected representatives.
This is a most undemocratic move and one that should be resisted by all parties in the Dβil. The Independents looked after their self-interest two weeks ago by forcing the withdrawal of the "ban on the dual mandate" from Mr Dempsey's Local Government Bill. Is it not ironic, that the same prople are going into the chamber this week to vote for the removal of power from themselves as local councillors because their survival is more important than a clean and safe environment. Why are the PDs allowing this to happen? Do they not care about local democracy either?
Yours etc -
Tony Rooney, Cooperhill, Co Meath.