Dublin City Council Update

See below the response to the question posed by my colleague Cllr Ruairi McGinley in relation to the delay by the DoE in providing a foreshore license for the Poolbeg W2E facility.

This could end up costing extra €€€s in the form of interim waste disposal arrangements which will come from the pockets of Dubliners.

WHATS THE HOLD-UP?

Question to the City Manager:

To ask the City Manager to outline the impact that the current delay in licence sign-off by Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government is having on Poolbeg Waste-to-Energy project and to outline the options open to the manager if the Minister persists with an unreasonable delay in granting this licence. The Manager should also outline the financials implications of current delay and the options open to the manager to seek to recover any financial losses arising.

Reply from Dublin City Manager:

The delay by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries up to January 2010, and subsequently the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local        Government in responding to the application for a Foreshore Licence for the Waste-to-Energy Facility in Poolbeg will, potentially, have financial implications for the City Council as well as the other Dublin Local Authorities.

Members will be aware that the current landfill site in Arthurstown, Kill, will be closing in December 2010. It is necessary for the Dublin Authorities to tender for a contractor(s) to process and dispose of waste arising in the Dublin Region from then until the Waste-to-Energy Facility is operational. Any further delay in the construction of the Waste-to-Energy Facility will mean continued use of the contractors with the consequent costs. It is not possible to quantify the likely costs at this stage pending the tender process.

While the legislation dealing with Foreshore Licensing does not put any limits on the time which the Minister may take in dealing with such applications the Minister must act reasonably. It should be noted that, under the terms of the Project Agreement, signed in 2007, responsibility for securing the Foreshore Licence rests with our private sector partner in the project. The Council is, however, obliged to use its best endeavours to assist in securing the Licence.