asked the Minister for the Environment if, in view of the statement of the Minister of State at his Department to the National Building Agency on the plans for a central waste facility, he is aware that the present terms of reference for the facility provide for further treatment on the site; if he is aware that residents associations in the area have declared their opposition to either the facility being located or treatment being facilitated at the proposed site; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Central Waste Facility.
559.
I would refer the Deputy to my reply to Question No. 210 of 31 January last in which I indicated that the development envisaged is a depot at which limited quantities of waste would be bulked up and stored under stringent conditions, pending export to approved facilities abroad and that it was possible that some treatment of waste might be undertaken at the centre in the future if the quantities of waste being received and economic considerations justified such a course. The instructions given by the National Building Agency to Danish consultants in relation to the preparation of the planning application reflect this position.
I am aware that some residents of the general area have declared their opposition to any development along the lines proposed for the Baldonnel site but I believe that this opposition is based on a misconception of what it is intended to provide and a lack of understanding of both the need for the facility and the safety standards to be observed in its construction and operation. The views of those opposed to the development will no doubt be taken into account by the planning authority when the planning application is made later this year and every effort will be made to explain the development (and the safeguards being taken) to persons living in the area when that stage is reached. Pending the submission of this application, I have no further statement to make about the proposed development other than to again assure those opposed to the project that there is no intention to provide a toxic dump either at Baldonnel or in its environs.