The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is to assess the health and safety aspects of a proposed hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork, for which planning permission has been sought by Belgian company Indaver.
The €89m (£70m) facility, the first hazardous waste incinerator to be built in the Republic, would, according to Indaver, reduce Ireland's dependence on other countries to dispose of our hazardous waste.
It would also provide Cork with all the incinerator capacity it would need if an integrated waste management approach was adopted, and generate 14mw of electricity, enough for 20,000 homes each year.
The company has promised to be transparent at every stage of the planning process, and has engaged in widespread communication and consultation with concerned groups in the Cork harbour area.
However, despite this, more than 4,000 objections to the planning application have been lodged with Cork County Council, and it is expected the figure could rise to 6,000.
The latest objector is Carrigaline IFA. The local IFA group is concerned about risks to animal health and food contamination.
It says that emissions from an incinerator, whether real or perceived, could cause food quality concerns amongst retailers and consumers.
In a statement yesterday, Indaver said it had agreed with Cork County Council to allow an extension of time in the planning process to facilitate the HSA's assessment.
The statement said: "We believe it is right and proper that the Health and Safety Authority be given adequate time to assess our proposal, which deals in great detail with health and safety issues."
It is understood that the HSA will have completed its assessment by the end of next month.
The Chase umbrella group, which includes several anti-incineration organisations from around the harbour, claims that opposition to the hazardous waste incinerator is growing.
It says that there is mounting evidence to show that such a facility could have harmful health effects.
However, Indaver claims that groups such as Chase have been issuing misleading information.