Cox defends stance on waste plan

Ms Margaret Cox, the Fianna Fail senator tipped to take a fifth Dail seat in Galway West, has criticised the lack of information given to local public representatives and the pressures they face in relation to deciding on thermal treatment or incineration.

"At no time were we told in Galway that `waste to energy', the sexy term for thermal treatment, was going to prove so controversial, and had done already in other countries," Senator Cox told The Irish Times. She voted against the Connacht waste management plan debated by Galway Corporation.

She also believes it is unfair to expect councillors to make up their minds on such a complex issue "without proper support and with so little time". The bureaucracy attached to both the Department of the Environment and the local government system contributes to the difficulties, she says.

Faithful to the promise she made after her vote against the strategy earlier this month, carried eight to seven by the votes of her Fianna Fail and Progressive Democrats colleagues, the senator wants a technical variation that would exclude incineration or thermal treatment in the city for "a number of years".

She also intends to try and convince the Government at a national level to defer the thermal treatment option, pending introduction of a proper system of reusing and reducing waste. "We need to eliminate the commercial viability of thermal treatment," she says.

Ms Cox has been selected to stand in the next general election in Galway West with her party colleagues, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Fahey, and the Minister of State for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Mr Eamon O Cuiv.

So far she has not been censured for her vote on the waste plan, which she describes as a personal choice after much consultation.

Her decision was not easy. Tempers in the business community were rising over the short-term problems associated with Poolboy landfill in Ballinasloe, and both the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, and Mr Fahey had urged the councillors publicly to accept the plan as the only long-term option.

Mr Fahey appeared in the City Hall chamber on the night of the vote, prompting criticism from opposition deputies. Afterwards he said he was there to support colleagues who had received intimidating phone calls in the lead-up to the vote.

Ms Cox confirms that such phone calls were received. "It is one thing for us to take these calls, but when spouses of councillors also experience abuse it is really not fair.

"It is often forgotten that councillors are part-time representatives, and waste is a hugely complex issue," she says. "That said, I was really impressed with the way councillors grasped the details in the time we had."

Ms Cox singles out the environment as one of her priorities, along with childcare and health. "My interest generally is in women's issues, and I feel I have a responsibility to bring a sense of balance into our society. That means trying to encourage the Government to support job-sharing and flexible working initiatives, for instance.".

As a mother of four children ranging in age from 6 1/2 to 10 months, and managing director of a recruitment firm in Galway, she faces a constant dilemma. "I can see why women want and need more time at home, and I can also see, as a business person, the difficulties that this creates.

"There is no doubt that more flexible working options can make it more difficult to run a business, and if it was left to companies themselves it wouldn't happen in many cases," she says.

"So I do feel the Government has a role in creating incentives, and supporting businesses to introduce it, for the benefit of society as a whole."

She believes she has already made a small difference. From April of this year maternity expenses can be written off against tax.

"When I first approached the Minister for Finance about this, he thought it was already available because it applies in the case of health expenses associated with Caesarean sections. Not for normal deliveries, though."

She recognises that her Oireachtas colleagues have a similar lack of awareness about the significance of childcare. "I remember when I first raised it at party meetings I was told to forget about it if it wasn't being brought up at constituency clinics, and now it is on every party's agenda."

Originally from Galway, Senator Cox comes from a family of 13 and holds diplomas in systems analysis, personnel management and accounting and finance. She became involved in politics on the death of her father, the Fianna Fail councillor, Tom Cox.

"My father only came into local politics latterly, having been very involved in the abortion referenda from a `pro-life' stance," Senator Cox says. "I thought when I agreed to take over and was co-opted to the corporation in 1995 that I'd be out in two years, but then the local authorities were extended for another two."

The sudden retirement of the former Fianna Fail minister, Mrs Maire Geoghegan-Quinn, paved the way for another candidate at national level in Galway West.

She lost the selection convention in the constituency, but was added to the ticket in 1997 and came sixth. A month before the election she was captured on camera rollerblading on the Salthill promenade. She was elected to the Seanad, again on her first time out, and says of that canvass that it was "very interesting".

In the recent TG4/MRBI poll for the Galway West constituency, she was tipped to take a fifth seat.

She denies that she is targeting Labour's seat, held by the former Arts minister and senior Labour Party representative, Michael D. Higgins. "I would be perceived as being close to Labour on some issues, and very right of centre on others - capitalistic, if you like, because of my business background," she says.

On the abortion issue she differs from her father in that she regards it as a personal choice.

"I don't believe in legislation for one in 10,000 cases, and I do believe the all-party committee report has outlined the complexities," she says. "My father was very focused, black and white, whereas I can see the grey areas, but I don't think I would differ from him at a fundamental level."

She does believe there is a need for a referendum on foot of the all-party committee report, "because if we don't people on both sides of the divide won't feel they have ownership of the solution".

Planning is another controversial issue that concerns every elected representative, no more so than in the rapidly expanding Galway West constituency. She is in favour of a new bridge across the Corrib, which has caused much opposition among residents groups.

However, she is also concerned about lack of playground facilities for children, and last year she appealed for a settlement during the bitter row over the new walkway along the Corrib river in the city.

"I'd like to see a more accessible planning system, and one with more information," she says. "I would like to see a facility in the new Planning Bill that ensures publication of reasons for a planning decision, whether granted or refused."