Preparations are being made for extensive recycling in Galway from next month, the new city manager says, but he believes thermal treatment or incineration has to be considered as a waste management option.
Mr John Tierney also believes the "silent majority" favours further infrastructural development, including the proposed but controversial outer bypass route and bridge across the Corrib. The concerns of residents' groups opposed to the new bridge have to be weighed against the "greater good".
Galway councillors voted by nine votes to five in favour of the £113 million motorway project last week. But Senator Fintan Coogan (FG) said the route south of Menlo village would result in the loss of one of the "jewels" of the city. "This is not construction - this is destruction," he said at the meeting.
Mr Tierney, however, believes the outer bypass to be "crucial", and rejects a claim by the Hands Across the Corrib alliance of residents' groups that it is designed to open up more land for development. "The city development and transportation plans don't allow for that in terms of zoning," he says. "The east side is earmarked for development, and it is very restricted on the west side."
Mr Tierney says he had a "baptism of fire" when he succeeded Mr Joe Gavin, who was appointed Cork city manager a few months ago. The "waste crisis" was just gathering pace. The county's only land fill at Poolboy in Ballinasloe prepared to close its gates to commercial waste from the city, under the terms of an Environmental Protection Agency licence.
During that same troublesome fortnight, when domestic waste collections were unexpectedly suspended after waste contractors placed a picket on Poolboy, Galway Corporation voted eight to seven in favour of the Connacht waste management plan. The plan, including an option for thermal treatment, is due to come before Galway County Council but has been deferred because of the foot-and-mouth alert.
Meanwhile, the "crisis" at Ballinasloe was temporarily averted when Ballinasloe Urban District Council temporarily lifted its quota system.
Mr Tierney rejects criticism that local authorities had not provided for recycling before now. "Part of the problem was that we had no overall plan, but we now hope that the national funding regime to assist recycling will be announced in the next couple of months. It is very difficult because almost every aspect of waste infrastructure involves a not-in-my-backyard reaction from local residents.
"So we have already had objections to our proposal for composting at Carrowbrowne landfill, and there was the recent court case involving objections to the use of bottle banks."
A "fairly extensive logistical exercise" is already planned for the coming weeks. A pilot kerbside recycling project which ran very successfully in the Renmore area will be extended, with 35,000 bins distributed to 17,500 households from April.
Originally from Co Tipperary, Mr Tierney (41) lives with his wife, Sadie, and two teenage daughters, Mary and Joanne, in Claregalway. He still has a house in his native Terryglass on Lough Derg. A Pioneer, he comes from a strong GAA background and was chairman of the north Tipperary senior GAA board from 1988 to 1989.
He began his career in the public service as clerical officer in north Tipperary County Council and subsequently worked with Limerick Corporation and Limerick County Council. He was county secretary for two years with Kilkenny County Council. He worked for four years as an administrative officer with Galway Corporation, and was also acting town clerk for a year. His most recent post was assistant county manager with Galway County Council.
His predecessor in City Hall, nick named "the Boss", was energetic and controversial, presiding over the local authority during the long-running debate on the Mutton Island sewage treatment plant, pedestrianisation, Travellers' accommodation, the Carrowbrowne landfill (when the corporation was heavily criticised by the High Court) and the demolition of Rahoon flats.
During Mr Gavin's term the Town Hall Theatre, the Black Box and a new performance space in Leisureland were constructed, and the annual arts festival became an institution. He left just as Galway was belatedly preparing a bid for European City of Culture 2005, due to be decided shortly in Brussels.
"It would be wonderful if Galway did secure it," Mr Tierney says. "It would really invigorate the city, and bring fresh blood to the arts community." That said, he isn't holding his breath, as strong bids have also been put in by Cork and Limerick.
Galway is still regarded as the State's fastest-growing city, and this could accelerate if it is identified as a growth centre in the National Spatial Plan, now being prepared by the Department of the Environment. Galway Chamber of Commerce has predicted the population could increase by over a quarter of a million in the next decade.
Mr Tierney says he wants to see Galway Corporation "playing its role" in continued economic growth by providing "high-quality infrastructure and continued social development", ensuring it is "a uniquely attractive place to live".
He refers to provision of affordable housing and good community and recreational facilities, while stressing the importance of working with other agencies, such as Bus Eireann, Iarnrod Eireann and the Departments of Education and Justice, to extend infrastructure. The "new town" proposed in the city development plan - Ardaun on the east side - will depend on provision of proper public transport.
Mr Tierney's predecessor made the distinction between "genuine environmentalists" and environmental protest groups and held the latter responsible for delaying projects such as Mutton Island and the waste management plan. Mr Tierney says there are many people who "recognise the need for infrastructural development, but wouldn't be motivated to start a pressure group".
He has great confidence in the public service, and sees his job as a vocation. A recent Garda investigation into claims of corruption in planning in Galway produced no evidence. This does not surprise him. "It is very easy to make comments about corruption, but there has been no substantiation of that here. The vast majority of officials are trying to do their job as best they can," he says.
