Over 3,000 sign objections to Poolbeg plan

Over 3,000 people have signed objections to the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin Bay that were  submitted to An Bord Pleanála before the deadline expired this afternoon.

An application to build an incinerator on the five-and-a-half acre site on the Poolbeg peninsula capable of burning 600,000 tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste per annum has been lodged with An Bord Pleanála by Dublin City Council.

The proposed incinerator is central to the council's waste-management plans and its year plan for the €1.5 billion development of the Poolbeg peninsula, which includes extending the Ringsend sewage plant and building more than 2,500 homes.

A spokesman for An Bord Pleanála said each objection would have to be examined carefully to see if it was part of a collective complaint. The final number of objections will not be known until tomorrow.

Combined Residents Against Incineration (CRAI), which represents people from Ringsend, Irishtown, Sandymount and other parts of the capital, opposes the project on the grounds of health, traffic and environmental concerns.

"We call for alternatives to incineration such as public recycling and for democracy in planning and development," CRAI said in a statement.

"The campaign to ensure the environment, communities and people are prioritised over developer's profit will continue with people power and more protests to step up the pressure on politicians to ensure the incinerator and other non-community friendly developments do not go ahead."

Labour Party TD for Dublin South East Ruairí Quinn today described the incinerator plan as "foolish" and "poorly planned and poorly implemented". He and Labour Party councillors have lodged a 100-page objection with An Bord Pleanála based on 12 issues including security, air quality, residues and impact on local communities.

The Green Party's Dublin South East TD, John Gormley, has accused the Government of being split on the issue. He has accused Tánaiste Michael McDowell and Minister for Environment Dick Roche of sending out conflicting messages.

Sinn Féin councillor Daithí Doolan said the plan "totally contradicts Dublin City Council's City Development Plan and undermines the democratic wishes of the majority of councillors in the city, who continue to reject this proposal".

Dublin Chamber of Commerce chief executive Gina Quin said the incinerator would help bring down waste disposal costs.

"Incineration alone is not a solution and its ultimate success will also depend on the success of the other parts of the mix of recycling, thermal treatment and landfill," Ms Quin said. "The waste-to-energy project for the GDA is already several years behind schedule."