A "monster" plant proposed for Portrane in north Co Dublin is unsuitable because proper sewage treatment is best served through smaller local plants, according to the Green Party leader and local TD, Trevor Sargent.
Local authorities along the east coast are proposing the construction of the sewage treatment plant, which would cater for up to 850,000 homes in the greater Dublin area. However, Mr Sargent said that a fundamental principle in dealing with waste should be the "proximity principle".
"This is why the monster plant proposed in the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study for Portrane, taking sewage from Dublin, Meath and Kildare, is a bad idea," he said. "The Portrane proposal also ignores . . . heavy rainfall in Ireland.
"During the 1960s, 7 per cent of rain fell as heavy downpours, but by the 1990s this had grown to 15 per cent. As climate change begins to take effect in Ireland, we can expect heavier downpours, and with that more problems as storm water flows into sewerage pipes and causes sewage treatment facilities to back up after heavy rain."
A recent report commissioned by a local group stated that proposals for the plant would also threaten the blue-flag status of three beaches in the area.
According to Mr Sargent, successful examples of inland treatment plants, where no discharge is pumped into coastal waters, could be found in countries such as Poland. "These examples, along with the proximity principle and climate change, mean that smaller, more manageable treatment plants are the best way forward to protect our environment," he said.