The employers' organisation, IBEC, has welcomed the proposal of the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to expedite planning on waste. IBEC said the initiative would speed up the planning process and encourage private-sector involvement in the delivery of much-needed waste facilities.
The Minister wants to expedite plans for waste facilities by sending them directly to An Bord Pleanála and eliminating direct local authority involvement.
The move was criticised as undemocratic by An Taisce and opposition politicians. Yesterday, however, Mr Donal Buckley, head of IBEC's environment unit, said: "Criticism of the proposal as anti-democratic does not stand up to scrutiny.
"The current lack of waste facilities illustrates the need to change a planning system that is obviously not working."
A planning application sent to a planning authority should take a minimum of three months to be decided, but in fact it often took significantly longer, he said.
It was certain that planning applications for waste facilities, irrespective of whether they were granted or refused, would be referred to An Bord Pleanála. It would consider anew the application and therefore the process was extended. "The new proposal will simply give a decision to all the parties sooner, without a removal of any democratic input. If anything, it will bring a new certainty to the process," Mr Buckley said.
Significant waste facilities such as landfills and thermal treatment facilities required a licence from the EPA to operate - a process in which the public also had an opportunity to participate.
"Detractors of this proposal have only focused on thermal treatment facilities and landfills. However, the Minister's proposal will accelerate all waste infrastructure, including recycling facilities."
Business and local communities had a common objective in the provision of cost-effective and environmentally-efficient waste-management services.
"This proposal should help achieve this shared goal by simplifying the process, thereby encouraging the private sector without a dilution of the democratic process," Mr Buckley said.
Private-sector involvement was critical for the provision of waste facilities. The regional waste plans would cost in excess of €1 billion, and the NDP was allocating €825 million to waste infrastructure over the life of the plan.
Local government, central government and the EU would provide only €254 million. The balance needed from the private sector was unlikely to be forthcoming unless changes were made, he said.