City council to have talks with Poolbeg incinerator developers

Dublin City Council is to meet today with the private company chosen to build and operate the Poolbeg incinerator in Ringsend to discuss the future of the project.

The firm, Elsam, now owned by Danish Oil and Natural Gas (DONG), has requested new arrangements for financing the controversial development.

The company is unwilling to provide full financing for the facility, as originally agreed, but instead wants to provide financing of just 25 per cent.

It has also sought to introduce a new US-based firm, Covanta, to operate the facility.

The proposed arrangements are to be discussed at today's meeting, which was arranged in advance of yesterday's announcement by Tánaiste and local representative Michael McDowell, in which he said the arrangement between the council and DONG had collapsed.

It is understood that the council is not willing to accept the proposed arrangements and if DONG decides to pull out of the deal, it will seek a new partner for the project.

A council spokeswoman said they were in continuing negotiations with the company.

The plant, which will take in up to 600,000 tonnes of rubbish annually, would be the biggest waste facility in the country if constructed. This would include almost all of the waste from households and businesses in the greater Dublin area that currently goes to landfill.

A planning application for the incinerator is before An Bord Pleanála. The board is due to hold an oral hearing on the plan and is expected to announce a date for the hearing in the next three weeks. Its target date for making a decision on the incinerator is April 27th.

The incinerator is also the subject of a petition to the European Parliament. MEPs on the petitions committee agreed last month to visit Poolbeg and analyse if the city council had complied fully with EU law governing the original environmental impact assessment scheme into this facility. It will also seek clarification on the site selection process.

Local Fianna Fáil representative Cllr Chris Andrews said the proposed changes to the terms of the agreement between the council and DONG raised questions about the viability of the project.

"If it is not viable for one company to do, why would it be viable for someone else?" he asked.