IDA pulls out of land sale for waste treatment site

IDA Ireland has withdrawn from the sale of land in Barnahely, Ringnaskiddy, Co Cork for an intended waste management facility, because of frustration over the planning process.

The company to which it was to sell the land, Cara Environmental Technology, expressed its disappointment with the move.

A motion was due to be debated by Cork Council Council yesterday for the first time after two years of what the IDA called "protracted discussions" on the project.

"The bull has to be taken by the horns," said one source. "There is a need for a waste management strategy for the whole country, otherwise I don't envisage a waste management solution for industry evolving."

Mr Brendan Keane, managing director of Cara Environmental Technology, said he was "extremely disappointed with the decision taken by the IDA. We have spent a great deal of time and effort in discussions with Cork County Council and local residents to ensure that the most up-to-date facility would be built on the Barnahely site."

He said it had been envisaged that 20,000 tonnes of waste sludge from the region would be handled at the site per year, along with some locally generated hazardous waste. Cara currently handles 5,000 tonnes of sludge per annum for the council in Ballincollig.

The IDA said its intention to co-opeate with Cara to deliver a waste management solution to key industries in the region had not progressed at the expected pace.

"IDA Ireland reiterates its commitment to co-operate on having a national industrial waste management system in place to meet the needs of key industry sectors, which contribute so significantly to the Irish economy. This does not exclude co-operation on the provision of land where such a solution is required within a national framework."

Cara Environmental Technology is one of the State's largest waste management companies and deals with approximately 60,000 tonnes of waste per annum.

It has recently received threats of possible legal action by two farming organisations in Belgium and the Netherlands. This follows a massive cull of pigs in the Netherlands during a scare caused by the presence of a hormone, MPA, in treacle used in pig feed.

The treacle was sold by a Belgian firm, Bioland, which bought sugar syrup from Cara. Cara was handling the syrup on behalf of Co Kildare pharmaceutical company, Wyeth Medica.