Vol. 560 No. 3
115 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the reason the health report on the effects of incineration on health has still not been published even though thermal treatment is integral to most waste management plans. [2776/03]
The Health Research Board was requested to commission a study to provide an objective analysis of internationally available information regarding the likely effects of landfill and thermal treatment activities on public health and the environment. While my Department has had no involvement in the selection of the study team or in its subsequent deliberations, I understand that the team has submitted a draft study report to the HRB, which then submitted it to an external academic peer review process, as is normal practice in such cases. I understand that this peer review process has only recently concluded and that the board hopes to be in a position to publish the study report within a relatively short period of time, probably next month.
I thank the Minister for his reply. This health report was expected this time last year. Many county councillors were forced to vote on the waste management plan without knowing if people's health was at risk. Does the Minister agree that if toxic substances are released into the air, they may get into the food chain? If the incinerator is built in an agricultural or tourist area, it could affect people and devastate a local economy. Does the Minister agree that, apart from Ringsend, most of the proposed incinerators are located in rural communities, yet most waste is generated in urban areas? It is almost as if the Department is subconsciously aware that something terrible could go wrong with incinerators.
It is interesting that the Minister is responsible for local government, yet he is taking power away from county councillors to decide their own waste management plans. He plans to have legislation before the Dáil in three to four months' time to take power away from councillors to impose bin charges. There is no enthusiasm to encourage recycling. We have not heard much about where the toxic ash from the incinerators will go. Will the Minister support building an incinerator in Waterford city or will he play politics and build it outside the city, perhaps in County Wexford?
Is the Deputy making a speech or asking questions?
The Deputy should ask a question.
I do not have my head in the sand. I am well aware of the waste crisis. Does the Minister agree that if he has no intention of strongly promoting recycling, the least he should do is publish the health study immediately to allow people to make an informed decision? The legacy of illegal dumps will not be atoned for by covering rural Ireland in an abysmal—
The Deputy should confine himself to questions.
The Deputy made interesting points. It is interesting to talk to my colleagues in Europe where a number of thermal treatment plants or incinerators are being built. However, there is not a word about these developments. I have asked if there are problems with local communities and I have been told that there are no problems. I have also been told that they are being built in urban areas. The reason is they fully understand and appreciate that thermal treatment plants are of such a high standard, given the standards we have set in the EU, that they almost remove all the dioxins from the atmosphere. A number of Deputies seem to suggest that we should continue to allow the constant release of large amounts of dioxins through illegal burning and dumping rather than managing our facilities properly and putting in state-of-the-art modern facilities throughout the country. I think I am the only Deputy in the House who has lived beside an incinerator for the past 11 years and I am happy that my health is as good today as it was 11 years ago.
That explains it.
I am happy to be standing here. There are 11 incinerators in the country. The plant I live beside is an old one and there was a lot of unhappiness about the smells emanating from it. I look forward to putting in place efficient and modern facilities. The incinerator I live beside is not for household refuse. It is a major meat plant. There is consternation in other parts of the country where modern facilities are being put in place.
A burger joint.
We must grasp the nettle. There are 365 thermal treatment plants among the 15 members of the European Union. They are taking out some of the old plants and building modern ones. Our standards are high. Ireland is lucky in that we come to this part of our solution later than other countries. The advantage is that because standards in technology have improved in the past three or four years, the standards in our plants will be high. Less than 2% of dioxins in the air in this country will come from those plants when they are operational, as proposed in the waste management strategy.
The dioxins are there and their toxicity is only matched by their persistence. Humans are still exposed to dioxins which were released decades ago.
The Deputy should ask a brief question.
Does the Minister realise that they are known carcinogens which can cause severe health risks, such as reduced fertility, impaired development in infants and possible organ damage, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency? These are long-term effects which the Minister may not experience today, but which he or someone related to him might experience tomorrow.
As a heavy smoker, I cannot argue with that. I am guilty on a number of fronts in terms of my health. The Deputy seems to suggest that we should continue as we are and that if we hide the issue under the carpet and allow everyone to do what they are doing, it will be all right. However, it is not all right. If the Deputy was seriously concerned about the environment and people's health, he would want to stop the huge mismanagement of our waste and move to state-of-the-art, controlled and managed facilities which we know will substantially reduce the danger to human health. That is what I am trying to do. I hope the eminent and highly qualified doctor agrees with that. We cannot sustain the wanton misuse of our environment which is causing considerable damage. There is no point turning a blind eye to it and I will not do so. I want to implement state-of-the-art facilities. I hope every Member of the House and of local authorities throughout the country support it, as they do in every other European country.
That concludes Priority Questions. We now come to other questions. I remind Deputies about the time limit on supplementary questions.
