A Cork senator has strongly opposed renewed efforts to secure planning for an incinerator in Ringaskiddy, slamming the project as a 'threat to public health.'
Senator Laura Harmon has highlighted the long-running efforts of the Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE), a local activist group that has opposed the project for over two decades.
Plans for a new incinerator in Cork Harbour have been in development for 24 years, with the Belgian waste management company Indaver first applying for permission in November 2001. This initial application was refused by Cork County Council but was later granted on appeal by An Coimisiún Pleanála in 2004.
Despite this, ground was never broken at the site, and in 2008 Indaver submitted another application to An Coimisiún Pleanála - then known as An Bórd Pleanála - which showed the project had increased in scale. This application was refused by the planning authority.
This latest application was submitted in 2016, and two years later, An Coimisiún Pleanála granted approval, only for it to be quashed by the High Court in 2022.
The application was later returned to the planning authority in 2024, and Indaver was requested to submit additional information. This information was provided in August of this year, and residents who had previously objected to the project were notified by An Coimisiún Pleanála.
Senator Harmon has urged locals to submit objections to An Coimisiún Pleanála by the November 17 deadline, herself raising concerns about the environmental impact of the project and the potential effects of airborne pollutants on nearby residential areas. If implemented, the plan would process 240,000 tonnes of waste annually, with 10% of this amount classified as 'suitable hazardous waste.'
Examples of this 'suitable waste' include contaminated personal protective equipment/clothing, filters, absorbents, redundant over-the-counter preparations, medicines, and raw materials such as sugars, starches and gelatine tablet coatings.
According to the Coimisiún report, these items are classified as hazardous in the European Waste Catalogue due to their chemical or physical properties. However, this does not imply that they are dangerous to handle.
The Labour Senator said: "Indaver have been making attempts to situate an incinerator on this site for 24 years, and the response from residents of Cork Harbour continues to be a well-informed 'No.'
"This is a threat to public health, a threat to our coastline and to the tourism economy in Cork Harbour. We cannot allow an incinerator to be constructed on a known flood-risk site."
"Communities throughout Cork Harbour deserve to be listened to. Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE) have been campaigning on this matter since 2001 and have done trojan work thus far, we must support them in rejecting this latest proposal."
"CHASE have highlighted that this site is unsuitable per WHO guidelines and observed health studies that find incinerator emissions to be damaging to health. On top of this, this plan goes against hopes for development in the Lower Harbour as per the Cork County Development plan for 2022-28."
Senator Harmon said the site could serve as a suitable extension zone for the nearby third-level campuses, namely the National Maritime College of Ireland and the MaREI Research Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine.
She continued: "We need to allow for progress on scientific innovations for climate issues, not regression in the form of toxic gas and pollutants in residential areas."
"I would urge everyone to submit an objection to An Coimisiún Pleanála for this proposal by the deadline of November 17th. CHASE Cork Harbour have guidance on this process online."
In the planning authority's 2016 report, the inspector highlighted that the facility would help reduce Ireland's overreliance on landfills and maximise the amount of energy recovered from waste.
Referencing a document published by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government in 2012 titled A Resource Opportunity. Waste Management Policy in Ireland, the inspector pointed out that using waste to produce energy through methods like incineration is in line with waste management guidelines.
If constructed, the plant would produce an estimated 21MW of electricity, of which 18.5MW would be sent to the national grid, with the remainder being used to power the facility itself. Indaver estimates that the facility will be able to power approximately 30,000 homes annually
In their planning report, Indaver indicated that a community fund of €240,000 per year would be allocated for the facility's lifetime. More than €3 million has already been paid out to the community in Meath, where they operate another waste management facility.
Indaver also estimates that 320 people could be employed in the construction of the €200m project, and once open, the plant would create 63 permanent jobs in the locality.