Communities such as those living near Cork Harbour should be protected by legislation limiting the number of times planning applications can be made for major infrastructural projects that impact on their lives, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin told the An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into Indaver's planned €160 million incinerator at Ringaskiddy that people such as those living around Cork Harbour should not be subjected to repeated applications after permission is refused.
This is Indaver’s third time applying for planning permission for the project and Mr Martin said the fact the local community has consistently opposed the proposal, as have local public representatives across Cork county, should be heeded.
"In my view, given this history of this particular proposal and the overwhelming unanimous view across the entire community and the opposition of all councillors on Cork County Council, there is an issue for us as legislators as to when do you say 'Stop'," he said.
"There comes a time when, after two refusals and overwhelming opposition, it's time for Indaver to call a halt and fold up their tent and walk away from this proposal."
‘Flawed’
Mr Martin said Indaver’s contention that Ringaskiddy was the only suitable site in Cork for the proposed 240,000 tonne municipal and hazardous waste incinerator was “false and flawed” and he believed locating such a huge facility there would hugely damage the amenity value of Cork Harbour.
He said he believed that locating such a huge piece of infrastructure in Cork Harbour was at odds with the Cork County Development Plan to develop Spike Island into a major tourist attraction while it would also impact negatively on the marine tourism potential of Cork Harbour.
Mr Martin also argued that the incinerator should not be located in Ringaskiddy because of the inability of the N28 to cater for the increased traffic volumes it would generate.
“Cork County Council is talking about 2022 as the likely date for the upgrade of the N28 but don’t think the N28 will be completed in any shape or form by 2022 and to suggest that incinerator traffic be confined to off-peak is neither realistic nor credible,” he said.
Mr Martin said he also noted there has been a change in the approach of the pharmaceutical industry to the Indaver proposal over the past five to seven years and while there may have been a demand for an incinerator back in 2010, he detected no such demand from the sector now.
"And as a former Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, I can say in all my time working with IDA Ireland, an incinerator never featured as key issue - an incinerator was never identified as a critical piece of infrastructure which if not provided, would prevent investment going ahead."
