The Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed it granted a waste licence to a recycling firm for a landfill site even though planning permission was twice refused for the facility.
An EPA spokesperson confirmed it had issued a licence to Greenstar Recycling Holdings for a landfill site at Ballyguyroe in north Cork close to the Limerick border despite Bord Pleanála refusing an appeal by the firm for planning permission in June.
The EPA said it had happened in the past that waste licences had been granted for facilities without planning permission but the facility could not operate and the licence would not become active until such time as planning permission was obtained.
"The planning process and the obtaining of a waste licence are parallel but separate matters - we have issued licences in the past for facilities which at the time had not planning permission and the waste licence cannot be used until planning permission has been obtained."
A Greenstar spokesperson said the firm was reviewing its position and would not make any final decision on whether to reapply for planning permission until the New Year. Last June, Bord Pleanála refused a Greenstar appeal for a 145,000 tonnes facility covering 27 acres of a 70-acre greenfield site with a 10-year lifespan at Ballyguyroe after Cork County Council had refused planning permission for the landfill.