Vol. 478 No. 7
56 Mr. Cowen asked the Minister for Health the situation in relation to the stockpiling of hospital medical waste; if all backlogs are cleared; if not, the locations where the material is being stored; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12310/97]
Limerick East): The longer-term solution to the problem of the disposal of healthcare risk waste lies in the joint north-south approach to the market for a contractor to provide the service of collection, transport, treatment and disposal. A joint waste management board, representing this Department and the Department of Health and Social Services in Northern Ireland, should soon be in a position to recommend the appointment of a contractor. The treatment process will be a non-incineration one employing shredding and disinfection.
As an interim measure, following the closure of hospital incinerators here, the healthcare risk waste has been exported for incineration. Initially England was the destination of this waste but the UK banned the import of waste for incineration last year. Following representations from our Department of the Environment, the UK authorities agreed to allow importation of healthcare risk waste from Ireland up to the end of 1997. During the three to four month period while the UK ban was in force, the Department arranged for the waste to be exported to Holland for incineration.This arrangement ceased at the end of February 1997 at which stage the UK route had re-opened. The health boards and voluntary hospitals have negotiated agreements with a number of different contractors who are exporting the waste for incineration in Britain.
I understand that one of the contractors involved experienced some delays in obtaining the necessary import permits into the UK and as a result some containers of waste were held up pending receipt of the necessary transfrontier shipment documentation. The position is that these containers were shipped immediately on receipt of this documentation at the end of March and I understand there is no backlog or stockpiling at present.
