I propose to take Questions Nos. 235 to 237, inclusive, 242 and 243 together.
Air quality assessment is primarily a matter for the EPA and air quality management is primarily the responsibility of local authorities informed by air quality measurement data. My Department is not appropriately placed to intervene on local air quality issues and it would not be appropriate to do this regarding the matter referred to in the questions. It is also the case that a decision is pending from An Bord Pleanála on a planning appeal regarding the composting facility at St. Anne's Park and that the EPA is considering an application for a waste licence for the same proposed activity.
With regard to waste composting more generally, the EPA has, under the environmental research, technological development and innovation, ERTDI, programme, commissioned Cré, the Composting Association of Ireland, to carry out a study entitled "Bioaerosols and Composting — A Literature Evaluation". A principal aim of the study is to provide a reference document for the guidance of both regulatory authorities and the composting industry in Ireland regarding bioaerosol emission management in significant composting facilities.
Bioaerosols — airborne micro-organisms, including pathogenic bacteria and fungal spores — arise in many natural environments, including lawns, farms and wooded areas. It is recognised that the operation of large-scale composting facilities may, in the absence of adequate precautions, give rise to the production of odours, volatile organic compounds and the release of bioaerosols in the immediate vicinity of such facilities. The main source for the bacteria and fungal spores at these installations may occur during mechanical agitation of the compost windrows, in activities such as screening, shredding and turning.
Composting is widely acknowledged as a natural process which allows organic waste to be decomposed by the action of micro and macro-organisms in the presence of oxygen to produce a humus like material. Under appropriately prescribed conditions, including suitable site selection criteria, the controlled composting of organic and green waste is internationally accepted and established as a well proven and acceptable method for the treatment and recovery of biodegradable waste, resulting ultimately in a beneficial and useful end product, that is, compost.