Senator adds voice to incinerator fight
A Cork senator has strongly urged the public to submit objections to a proposed incinerator in Ringaskiddy ahead of a community meeting in the village this evening.
Senator Laura Harmon said residents of Cork Harbour stand firmly against Belgian firm Indaver’s repeated attempts to gain planning permission for the controversial facility.
“Indaver have been making attempts to situate an incinerator on this site for 24 years and the response from residents of Cork Harbour continues to be a well-informed ‘no’,” said Ms Harmon, who is the Labour Party spokesperson for Further and Higher Education.
Indaver’s latest application follows a 2016 effort which was eventually quashed by the High Court in 2022. The waste solutions company’s latest plan would see 240,000 tonnes of waste burned every year.
Senator Harmon continued: “This is a threat to public health, a threat to our coastline, and to the tourism economy in Cork Harbour. We cannot allow an incinerator to be constructed on a known flood-risk site.
“Communities throughout Cork Harbour deserve to be listened to. Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (CHASE) have been campaigning on this matter since 2001 and have done trojan work thus far; we must support them in rejecting this latest proposal.”
Ms Harmon also pointed out that the proposed site for the incinerator is currently zoned as being suitable for the extension of nearby third level campuses, the National Maritime College of Ireland and the MaREI Research Centre for Energy, Climate, and Marine.
“We need to allow for progress on scientific innovations for climate issues, not regression in the form of toxic gas and pollutants in residential areas,” said Senator Harmon.
She added: “I would urge everyone to submit an objection to An Coimisiún Pleanála for this proposal by the deadline of 17 November. CHASE Cork Harbour have guidance on this process online.”
A public meeting will be held from 7.30pm this evening, Thursday, at Ringaskiddy Community Centre. To learn more about CHASE and to submit an objection to the proposed Ringaskiddy incinerator, visit chasecorkharbour.com.
In response to the backlash over the proposed incinerator, Indaver has maintained that its proposal is fully in line with EU, national, and regional waste policy. Additionally, the firm stated the need for a facility in Cork is greater than ever considering the growth of population in the region.
A spokesperson said the incinerator would also address the “regional imbalance” in the location of dedicated thermal treatment facilities for residual municipal waste, which they said is currently centred in the Eastern-Midlands region. “Waste-to-energy is a safe and well-established technology. Indaver has successfully operated a facility in Duleek, Co. Meath since 2011, adhering to the highest safety and environmental standards. The same high standards will apply to the proposed project in Ringaskiddy, should it be granted planning permission,” the spokesperson said.