Anti-incinerator campaigners expressed their dissatisfaction yesterday after environmental and health issues were ruled out of order at an An Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the proposed toxic waste incinerator for Ringaskiddy.
Senior Planning Inspector Mr Philip Jones told the hearing that following an overnight ruling of An Bord Pleanála, submissions relating to the risk of environmental pollution, including its effect on human health, would not be discussed.
The Inspector said the appeals board was restricted under legislation to dealing with matters solely related to planning concerns and would be proceeding on this basis.
The announcement was objected to by members of the Anti-Incinerator Campaign, some of whose submissions rested solely around environmental issues.
Counsel for Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment, Mr Joe Noonan, told the hearing that the ruling was an absolute denial of a community's fundamental concerns.
The hearing resumed with submissions by nine witnesses on behalf of the applicant company, Indaver Ireland. General Manger, Mr John Ahern, told the hearing the proposed Ringaskiddy facility would provide infrastructure of strategic and national importance and lessen the vulnerability of Irish industry to the decisions of other EU governments.
He cited the proximity principle as the driving force behind the choice of Ringaskiddy as a suitable location for the proposed €93 million facility, given that 60 per cent of Ireland's hazardous waste is created in Co Cork.
He said the current practice of exporting hazardous waste from Ireland to Britain and the Continent must be addressed, given that the practice is, he said, "frowned upon" in Europe.
He added that Ireland was at the mercy of the goodwill of other countries to accept its waste, leaving the State in a very vulnerable position.
The appeals board also heard that objections on traffic grounds were not valid, as the development would see an estimated increase of 2 per cent in traffic at peak periods.
Similar submissions were made regarding the transport of hazardous material to the facility, which Indaver said would be subject to very stringent regulations.
Project Manager Ms Laura Burke said the Health and Safety Authority had no objection to the proposed development, which took into account the presence nearby of the National Maritime College and village of Ringaskiddy.
The hearing will resume today and is expected to continue into next week.