Galway city councillors have vetoed any provision for incineration or thermal treatment in the new draft development plan which was agreed after marathon meetings which took place over a six-week period.
The new draft plan also commits the local authority to providing a school of music in Galway city, and supports construction of the controversial outer bypass route, while also providing for park-and-ride facilities and quality bus corridors.
The new draft plan was agreed at the last minute on Sunday night when the 15 councillors met the midnight deadline for its approval. Welcoming its completion, the Mayor of Galway, Cllr Catherine Connolly (Lab), said that she was delighted that all reference to incineration or thermal treatment had been removed - in spite of the fact that Galway city is earmarked for an incinerator under the Connacht Waste Management Plan.
"Ultimately, the Minister for the Environment has the legal right to overrule us, but our experience of waste management, including recycling, in Galway informs us that incineration is not necessary," the mayor said.
Cllr Connolly also said the outer bypass route has been agreed by a previous council, and procedurally there was no motion to remove it. However, she welcomed the inclusion of measures to encourage park-and-ride, quality bus corridors and safer routes for pedestrians and cyclists.
"Negative" aspects included the rezoning of nearly 30 acres of industrial land on the city's east side for commercial or light industry use, she said.
"This was agreed against the advice of the planners, who had warned that it could lead to a string of retail outlets, offices and cheap apartments on the city's outskirts. We should be promoting small indigenous industries where people live, and I think this rezoning sets a very bad precedent."
The commitment to a school of music is complemented by an agreement to explore the possibility of a writers' centre for Galway. However, Fianna Fáil councillor Mr Michael Leahy said he would have been happier if there had been more focus on examination of the economic effects of the previous city plan, adopted in 1999. "We should be taking more cognisance of the fact that parts of the city may not be doing so well, and we should have more balanced development to cater for that."
The two Fianna Fáil councillors on the local authority voted in favour of incineration, and Cllr Leahy said he believed it was "unrealistic" to hope for a "zero waste situation".
However, Green Party councillor Mr Niall Ó Brolcháin said he welcomed its exclusion.
"National law as it now stands overrides the powers of the local authority on this issue, but it will certainly mean that planning permission for an incinerator in the city centre will be very difficult, and may only go ahead if applied for outside the city limits."
The Fine Gael deputy mayor, Mr Padraic Conneely, said he was "reasonably happy" with the final document and had been keen to remove any references to "discretion" which might give officials an excuse for inaction.
While the completion before the deadline was a "victory for local democracy", the timescale was "too short" for councillors who had to sit through many hours of debates over a six-week period.
