The farming industry could be devastated and thousands of livelihoods jeopardised if a toxic waste incinerator gets the go-ahead in Ringaskiddy, according to the Cork farming community.
Mr Oliver O'Leary, representing Carrigaline Irish Farmers Association at the An Bord Pleanála hearing into planning permission for the proposed incinerator at Ringaskiddy, said he voiced the concerns of hundreds of farmers in the region.
"Incinerators and farming don't mix." He said farming could not withstand any further damage that may result from an accident at the proposed plant.
"What would happen if there was an accident at Indaver? Farming is not like a factory where staff can be sent home. The end result would be that no one would want our produce and we would suffer a huge financial loss," Mr O'Leary said.
He said with nine out of 10 cows being exported and with eight out of 10 gallons of milk destined for the export industry, farming was heavily dependent on exports, which would suffer dramatically if produce were affected by any toxic waste. "Can Indaver guarantee us there will never be an accident? You can never say never."
A retired veterinary surgeon and lecturer of economics at University College Cork, Mr John Masson, said the statistics relevant to waste show an industry not in need of an incinerator. "It would appear to me that it shows an industry which is improving considerably all the time and that to have an incinerator on its doorstep would be counterproductive," he said.