I propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 406 and 451 to 453, inclusive, together.
Officials from my Department carried out a review of the dossier and additional documents submitted by the family concerned. The purpose of the review was to ascertain if the dossier provided contained new information in the first instance. Persons against whom allegations were made in the dossier did not carry out the review. The report of the review indicated that the dossier did not present any materially new information; it was deemed that it did not warrant an independent health specialist to investigate the issues further. The issues had been part of previous considerations and correspondence.
It is understood that the proposed incinerator to which the Deputy refers to is the proposed Mungert incinerator. The EPA is the competent authority for granting and enforcing Industrial Emissions Licences; the HSE is a statutory consultee in the licensing process and has the opportunity to make submissions on any health-related impacts of a proposed development.
The HSE reviewed and reported on the licensing application and also sought the expert advice of Public Health England -Centre for Radiation Chemical and Environmental Hazards (PHE-CRCE) in relation to the matter. I am advised that the HSE made a number of submissions; all submissions are in the public domain and available on the EPA website. The Disease Cluster Protocol would generally be triggered in the event of an investigation of a suspected cluster of adverse human events from a potential environmental cause.