The people of Kilcock and representatives of the Irish bloodstock industry were united yesterday in welcoming An Bord Pleanala's emphatic rejection of the planned hazardous-waste incinerator for Co Kildare.
The trustee of North Kildare-South Meath Alliance Against Incineration, Father P.J. Byrne, said he was "pleased with the decision, proud of the unity in the community that helped bring about this decision, and mightily relieved".
Their supporters were invited to a "Mass of thanksgiving" tonight, after which the community would have a party to celebrate, he added.
An Bord Pleanala's decision provided considerable support for the view that incineration is not the solution to the Republic's waste problems, according to the environmental groups Earth watch and Voice.
The groups said they had been saying for some time that incineration was not the solution, and hoped "this will set the precedent for the rejection of this flawed technology throughout the State".
Mr Shane Dolan of Kildare Horse Development Company, which is promoting Kildare as "the thoroughbred county", said their job would have been impossible if the incinerator plan had been allowed to proceed. "Threats that some of our leading stud farms would leave the area were very real," he said.
The owner of Owenstown Stud in Maynooth and representative of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, Mr John Tuthill, said it had been crazy to even propose such a development in the area. "We are truly delighted for the people of Kilcock but also for the bloodstock sector, the entire horse industry and all of those in agriculture," he said.
The decision was a victory for local democracy, said the local TD, Mr Emmet Stagg (Labour). "It threatened the very fabric of the community."
The US-based anti-incineration campaigner, Prof Paul Connett, who is in Ireland for a series of anti-incinerator meetings, said: "Ireland has the lowest dioxin levels in cow's milk in the world. You cannot throw this away.
"If incinerators are built, you are throwing away competitive advantage for Irish farmers and the prospect of a much safer environment."
