Convoy of cars to drive through Dublin opposing incinerator

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Friday August 18, 2006 11:35 by rory

Press Release: Convoy of cars this Saturday to drive through Dublin to raise awareness about planned incinerator

Residents of Ringsend, Irishtown, and Sandymount will be travelling around Dublin this Saturday 19th August in a convoy of colourful cars with balloons and banners and with a loudhailer raising awareness about the incinerator planned for Dublin Bay.

Press Release: Convoy of cars this Saturday to drive through Dublin to raise awareness about planned incinerator

Residents of Ringsend, Irishtown, and Sandymount will be travelling around Dublin this Saturday 19th August in a convoy of colourful cars with balloons and signs: ‘no incinerator in Dublin and Poolbeg’ - hanging from the cars and with a loudhailer raising awareness about the incinerator planned for Dublin Bay.

Meet: at 12 noon Saturday 19th August: at Star of the Sea Church, Sandymount

Contact:
Frances Corr 0877715825
May Kane 0876994279
Rory Hearne 086 1523542

Dublin City Council along with the other Dublin Local Authorities, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin County councils have applied to An Bord Pleanala for approval on the Poolbeg Peninsula of an incinerator that will burn 600,000 tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste per annum. The public are able to make submissions of objection up until Monday 2nd October.

The communities will continue to oppose the siting of an incinerator on the Poolbeg peninsula on grounds of health fears and traffic and environmental concerns. We are looking for people from the area and the greater Dublin area to send submissions to Dublin City Council opposing the incinerator as the incinerator will potentially impact on everyone in the City. The incinerator is not just a Ringsend or Sandymount issue but one that will at some point impact on everyone in Dublin through either dioxins in the wind, further increased waste charges or traffic.

Frances Corr of Bath Avenue Residents Association & CRAI said:
“An Bord Pleanala, decided that a similar site in Poolbeg was unsuitable for a Incinerator in 1996 on a number on grounds one of which was, the lack of infrastructure, the road network in the immediate area could not cater for the proposed increase in traffic. what has changed, there is no new road network,traffic usage has increased on our roads, and the planned incinerator is six times the size as the last proposal. If the was unsuitable then, it is unsuitable now.”

May Kane of Ringsend Community & CRAI said:
In an area that is already at saturation point with heavy industry, surely the siting of a thermal treatment plant in poolbeg is nothing short of reckless decision making, that displays a complete disregard for the residents of the locality "

Extra information:

The Public Private Partnership model has been proven with the Sewerage Treatment Plant to be more expensive for the tax-payer and detrimental to the health of people in the area. Serious traffic, health and safety and cost issues relating to the plant remain to be explained by Dublin City Council and the Government. Dublin City Council have already given €10 million to private consultants for the incinerator.
Most of the local politicians have expressed their opposition to the incinerator, including local PD T.D. Michael McDowell. However, despite this, Dublin City Council have gone full steam ahead for approval. A motion was put to the Dail recently by the Green and Labour parties instructing the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, to drop the plans to build the incinerator but Fianna Fail and the PDs voted for the incinerator.

Rather than getting incineration and over development the poolbeg peninsula should be developed according to what is decided by the people of the area. More appropriate would be a nature park, light-impact community recreation facilities (walks, pitch and putt) and limited housing rather than the proposed incinerator and massive high rise Fabrizia development.

The campaign to ensure the environment, communities and people are prioritised over developer's profit will continue with people power and more protests to step up the pressure on politicians to ensure the incinerator and other non-community friendly developments do not go ahead.

For information contact
Frances Corr 0877715825
May Kane 0876994279
Rory Hearne 086 1523542

CRAI was formed by the residents associations of Bath Ave. & District, Ringsend & Irishtown, Oceanview, Sandymount & Merrion and South Lotts Road to fight against the development of an incinerator in Dublin Bay