Politicians and community groups have reacted with anger to An Bord Pleanála's decision to approve plans for the State's first municipal waste incinerator.
The board's ruling upheld an equally controversial decision by Meath County Council, in the face of 4,500 individual objections, to permit the €85 million plant at Carranstown, near Duleek, Co Meath, which would generate electricity from burning 150,000 tonnes of waste per year. More than 26,000 people signed petitions against the project.
"We will now have an incinerator on our doorstep when the Health Research Board says Ireland does not have the resources to monitor and review the health aspects of it," said Louth Fine Gael TD Mr Fergus O'Dowd.
The incinerator is being planned by Indaver Ireland Ltd, whose Belgian-owned parent company was forced to close down one of its plants in Antwerp twice in the past six months after it exceeded limits laid down for dioxin emissions.
Indaver's general manager Mr John Ahern said the decision would allow the north-east to move away from its over-dependency on landfill. The company is also seeking permission for a hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, in Cork harbour. Indaver will have to get a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency before it can build the Carranstown plant.
In making its decision, An Bord Pleanála had regard to the regional waste management plan for the north-east, which includes provision for thermal treatment and national waste management strategy. While precluded from considering environmental risks, the board said it considered that the development of a "necessary public utility" in an area with established industrial use would not seriously injure local amenities. It laid down 31 conditions.
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