Vol. 470 No. 7
93 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the arrangements being made for the disposal of Irish medical waste with a Dutch company; the length of time and the costs involved or projected to be involved in such an arrangement; the extra costs involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19828/96]
94 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health whether his attention has been drawn to the situation at James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, whereby in contravention of the terms of the planning permission granted for the operation of a microwave facility there, waste from other hospitals and medical facilities have been processed there; if so, when his attention was so drawn to this matter; if he will provide a full inventory of all waste dealt with at the hospital, giving the origins of such waste; the steps, if any, he proposes to take to address the concerns of the local community caused by the abuse of the planning regulations; when the processing of waste from other facilities at James Connolly Memorial Hospital will cease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19830/96]
95 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health, in relation to a letter from the Eastern Health Board to Fingal County Council on 4 July 1996 (details supplied) that the microwave facility at James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, was in compliance with the conditions of the permission granted by An Bord Pléanála, whether he will stand over the assertion in that letter that the Eastern Health Board was in compliance with the conditions of the planning permission; if he will make available the inventory of the waste and origins of such waste to enable public scrutiny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19832/96]
96 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health if he will institute an urgent public inquiry into the serious breaches in relation to the management of medical waste in order to safeguard the public health and restore public confidence in the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19836/96]
97 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Health if he will make available a copy of the report made to him on the viability of a national and cross-Border system for the disposal of medical waste; when the group was set up; when it reported; the membership of the group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19838/96]
104 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Health if he will carry out a full review of hospital waste management procedures with a view to more localised disposal methods being considered instead of the centralised waste management project currently being pursued; and the steps, if any, he will take to ensure, where existing localised disposal is in place, that all conditions for such procedures are fully complied with. [19957/96]
Limerick East): I propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 94, 95, 96, 97 and 104 together. Because of the present temporary difficulty in exporting healthcare risk waste for incineration in the UK, my Department has, on 24 October, confirmed its acceptance of the proposals made by an Irish waste management company to have this waste exported to the Netherlands for incineration. The implementation of these arrangements will involve the health agencies entering into agreements with the company for the disposal of their healthcare risk waste from a current date to the end of February, 1997. Under the terms of the proposed agreements, the destination can be changed to the UK, if the current ban is lifted by the UK authorities and it is cheaper to send the waste for disposal there. The estimated additional cost of these arrangements is currently being assessed by the agencies, and I am not in a position at this stage to give a precise figure.
My attention was first drawn to the fact that the Eastern Health Board was processing waste from some of their other hospitals at James Connolly Memorial Hospital by a statement issued by the board on 22 October 1996. The information which the Deputy is seeking in relation to the inventory and origin of the waste is being sought from the Eastern Health Board. I have had inquiries made of the Eastern Health Board and the position is that the microwave plant at James Connolly Memorial Hospital is now treating only the waste arising at that hospital.
