THE Save Galway Bay (SGB) group said yesterday it was hopeful that some of its concerns about the £23 million Mutton Island sewage treatment plant might be addressed by the Government.
Following a 1 1/2 hour meeting with the Minister for Arts Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins, an SGB spokesman, Mr John Cunningham, said the group was optimistic. There "seems to be some flexibility" on the part of the Government about the technology to be used and the location, he said.
The meeting in Galway, which was also attended by Dr Tim Collins, special adviser to the Minister for the Environment, is to be reconvened in four weeks.
In the meantime Mr Higgins will discuss some of the objections with Mr Howlin. The European Commission has also opposed the project, on environmental grounds mostly related to the location.
Mr Cunningham expressed surprise that, following a Government decision to proceed with the project without EU Structural Fund approval, the Minister was prepared to consider all options at this point.
"We were surprised by the tenor of the meeting. While the Government still favours, Mutton Island, everything was under review. We have to see what compromise can be reached, if any."
While there was no definite indication of possible modifications, both sides had paid a lot of attention to the latest technologies available for sewage treatment, including ultra violet radiation, and to the possible environmental effects of a causeway linking the island to the mainland, Mr Cunningham said.
In SGB's view sedimentation effects and the restriction of tidal currents due to a 900m causeway could be eased by incorporating culverts or putting much of the plant and causeway underground.
Mr Higgins acknowledged that insufficient attention might have been paid to advances in technology, and that the framework for the project may have been too restricted in terms of technology and location.
"I will be putting the points raised at the meeting to Minister Howlin," he said.