Vol. 478 No. 2
148 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications the guarantees, if any, which were given by a company (details supplied) that they had control of 50 per cent of Dublin's municipal waste when they were awarded the AER 2 contract. [10864/97]
The technical evaluation criteria of the AER 2 competition, as set out in the information notes for generators, require that applicants must be able to demonstrate that the energy resources are available in sufficient quantity, and with sufficient reliability, to secure the proposed generating capacity. Applicants were also required to present arrangements for the long-term supply of fuel and proper disposal of by-products.
The Deputy will be aware that, in order to ensure the fairness, impartiality and objectivity of the AER 2 competition process, I appointed an independent assessor to evaluate the bids and recommend a winner. Neither I nor my Department had any role in that evaluation. I am satisfied that the winning bidder has complied with the technical criteria in relation to the energy resource.
