Avril Doyle
Ceist:2 Mrs. Doyle asked the Minister for the Environment the position Ireland adopted during recent discussions by the Council of Ministers on the incineration of hazardous waste.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Hazardous Waste Incineration.
The EC Environment Council of 22-23 March 1993 took note of a progress report from COREPER on the draft Directive on the Incineration of Hazardous Wastes. Because of time constraints, there was virtually no substantive discussion by Council of the proposal, and COREPER is to continue examination of it. Ireland's general position on the proposal is to support the imposition of strict controls on hazardous waste incineration, while maintaining some reserve on whether the draft Directive, in its current form, can suitably address clinical as well as industrial wastes.
Will the Minister tell the House what his view is on the draft Directive? Do we support it or have we such reservations that in its present form we will not be able to support it? I would like to know how the draft Directive will marry with a national waste policy from the Minister's Department. What are the Minister's views on this matter? Does Ireland support the proposals to date and, if not, in what areas are there reservations?
We can safely welcome the overall parameters contained in the Directive. The substance of what is involved needs to be debated at COREPER level. We have to take a reserve position in some areas, for example, in relation to clinical waste. There are about 150 incinerators dealing with hospital, clinical and infectious waste, which is not a very satisfactory system. It is not clear whether all countries wish to manage that element of waste in concert with this Directive, and that matter will have to be teased out. I would very much welcome, particularly for a country as small as Ireland, an arrangement whereby all hazardous waste could be managed in a single unit as distinct from the quite dispersed and dangerous system in operation at present.
May I ask the Minister what is the state of play in relation to the selection of a single site for a national toxic dump? Will he outline the action taken heretofore in relation to the selection of such a dump? I would also like to know how the Council of Ministers will handle the whole issue of incineration of hazardous waste. For example, will it be on the June agenda and will it be progressed from there fairly quickly?
I will begin by thanking Deputy Doyle for what seems to be a non-hysterical question in relation to this whole matter. I welcome her to her new post and I hope she will have a very long sojourn in that position.
Very often incineration is considered as the only way of solving the problem of hazardous waste. In the context of support for recycling, legislation on air and water pollution and the various controls put in place in this regard, incineration has to be considered as one element in the complex management of waste. First, we have to improve considerably on the system that has been in operation up to now. It is difficult to put a timescale on the solving of this problem. At present there is a derogation on the export of waste to Finland, France and the UK. The Community is moving much closer to a self-sufficiency regime and it will not be possible in the long term to continue transferring our problems elsewhere. There is no scientific or technological advance of which I am aware to convince me that we will not have problems of that kind, even with technological advances in recycling and controls. We have to solve our problems in this country. I would not like to suggest a timescale. There is a clear need for more open debate and involvement. I hope to have a conference later this year, perhaps in the summer, to broaden this question so that we can reach consensus as to how it can be answered, without ducking it.