Minister for the Environment John Gormley said today that regional waste management plans provide for a "very substantial over-capacity" for incineration - five times as much as would be need by 2016.
Addressing a recycling and waste conference in Dublin today Mr Gormley said he had presented figures to the Cabinet on the potential of alternative technologies and the over-reliance of incineration.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley
Mr Gormley now believes there is only need for two incinerators in the State, according to an RTÉ interview.
There are about seven regional incinerators at pre-planning-permission stages in the State, including one at Poolbeg, Dublin, in Mr Gormley's constituency.
The Minister told the conference: "These figures show that, based on predicted waste arisings, planned waste minimisation, recycling, composting, mechanical biological treatment, and current and emerging technologies, the existing regional-waste management plans provide for a very substantial over-capacity for incineration".
Mr Gormley went on to say that the figures suggest that by 2016 the quantity of residual waste requiring disposal other than landfill would amount to around 400,000 tonnes.
"The existing regional plans and proposed private industry thermal-treatment plants provide for over two million tonnes of incineration capacity," he said.
Labour's Joanna Tuffy said Mr Gormley's admission of the need for at least two incinerators "marks another remarkable U-turn on the part of the Green Party".
"Presumably by suggesting that there should only be two incinerators, Minister Gormley is hoping to avoid having the proposed Poolbeg project proceed, but this will be little comfort to worried residents in Cork and Meath where planning permission has already been granted for incinerators," she said.
Incinerators in Cork and Meath are at an advanced stage of planning.
Sinn Fein's Environment Spokesperson Martin Ferris said the minister should reject out of hand any proposals for incineration and embrace his party's previous policy of reduce, reuse and recycle towards zero waste.
"Green Party Environment Minister John Gormley should be condemned for advocating incineration in Ireland.
"His position today on incineration is in stark contrast to the position he took when sitting on the opposition benches in the last Dail," he said.
