Minister for the Environment John Gormley has an obligation to act against the Poolbeg incinerator going ahead, Labour Party TD Ruairí Quinn said today.
Mr Quinn said the announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency that it proposes to grant the licence subject to public consultation is "the second body blow within a week to the people of Dublin South East and to all those who want to see a safe and clean environment".
"The Labour Party will be opposing the proposal to grant a licence and will put our case strongly during the public consultation period," Mr Quinn said in a statement.
"Minister Gormley is now in a pivotal position and the obligation on him to act is all the greater because of his previously stated position of total opposition to the incinerator," he said.
"However, his failure to do anything to stop this project suggests that, despite the presence of the Greens in government, Fianna Fáil is still very much in the driving seat when it comes to policy on waste disposal and incineration."
Sinn Féin's Dublin environment spokesman, Daithí Doolan, called for the "immediate resignation" of Mr Gormley. "He was elected on a promise that he alone would stop this incinerator, and he has failed to keep that promise," Cllr Doolan said.
Labour councillor Dermot Lacey rejected Dublin City Council's statement that it welcomed the EPA announcement. "Dublin City Council does no such thing. The city manager and his team together with their allies in the Department of the Environment might welcome this decision.
"The city council has voted, time and time again to reject this ill conceived proposal that will damage the environment, lessen the value of the nature park, seriously reduce the impact of the beneficial clean up of Dublin Bay, impose serious traffic problems in the area and above all confirm . . . we do not live in a democracy," he said.