Local councillors would be stripped of their powers to decide on waste management under new legislation being planned by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, The Irish Times has learned.
Because of the failure of some local authorities to adopt regional waste management plans, the Minister has concluded that the powers should now be transferred to county or city managers.
Another option considered was the establishment of a National Waste Management Authority to take responsibility, but this has apparently been ruled out because it would take too long to set up.
The proposal to vest waste management powers in county or city managers reflects the Minister's exasperation with continuing delays in the adoption of regional waste plans, some now up to three years old.
Some years ago, a similar transfer of power was legislated in the equally controversial area of Travellers' halting sites after local authorities could not agree on locations.
With controversy over proposals for thermal treatment, or incineration, as well as more landfills for residual waste, several local authorities have so far declined to adopt waste plans.
These include Galway County Council, which is holding up adoption of the Connacht waste management plan, and Louth County Council, which has refused to ratify a similar plan for the north-east region.
Longford County Council rejected the midlands plan while a fresh decision is pending from Cork Corporation on the plan for Cork city and county. Local authorities in the south-east have also to reach a deal.
Only two regional waste management plans, for Dublin city and county and the south-west region, have been adopted, while Donegal, Kildare and Wicklow each have their own plans.
Last October, faced with legal action by the European Commission over failure to comply with EU waste management directives, Mr Dempsey said he was "urgently reviewing" options to speed up the process.
"Difficult decisions must be faced," he told an international recycling conference in Dublin. Since then, his Department has been examining what powers are available to him under the 1994 Waste Management Act.
However, the proposal to transfer power to county or city managers may harden the resolve of recalcitrant councillors in refusing to adopt the outstanding plans, at least in the short term.
Though it will be seen as a blow to local democracy, Mr Dempsey is convinced it is the only way to counteract opposition. Public participation would not be entirely circumvented, as all new waste treatment plants or landfill sites would still require to be licensed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Private companies interested in building thermal treatment plants would also have to go through the planning process, with the likelihood they would face appeals to An Bord Pleanala by third-party objectors.
