The Minister for the Environment is examining a British Medical Journal study revealing that living near an incinerator increases the risks of a baby being born with spina bifida and congenital heart defects.
Mr Cullen said he would consider the study in the context of the examination of a report commissioned by his predecessor from the Health Research Board (HRB).
"We know that 2½ times the damage any incinerator could do is being done by people wrongly burning waste in their backyards or on their farms," he added.
Replying to a series of special-notice questions, Mr Cullen said that the proposed emission levels for incinerators were significantly lower than international norms and what was acceptable.
"I am only prepared to proceed with them in the context of reaching the highest level of recycling of 40 per cent, which is the level in the best performing countries in the EU," he added.
