Republican News · Thursday 21 August 2003

Monaghan and neighbouring counties opppose Incinerator

The people of North Monaghan and their neighbours in Border Counties are currently involved in a widespread community campaign against plans to locate an incinerator in their area.

The campaign is opposing the proposal by Monopower Ltd to locate a waste disposal incinerator in the Carrickroe area of North Monaghan to cater for the high concentration of mushroom farms in Counties Monaghan, Cavan, Tyrone and Armagh. The opposition, which began as a small group of concerned residents in Carrickroe, has quickly become a strong force supported by large numbers of community groups as well as by local authorities, north and south.

According to its own Environmental Impact Statement, Monopower acknowledges that its proposed plant will operate 24 hours a day, 364 days a year. It will burn 353,000 tonnes of spent mushroom compost and poultry litter per year and wood chips when available.

All of this fuel will be drawn to the site in covered articulated lorries along the already overused country roads. This, in effect, would mean that the volume of traffic generated would increase by 110-120% on these roads.

The concerns of people have been presented under four categories:

• Health Implications
• Safety Implications
• Environmental Implications
• Quality of Life Implications

These have been catalogued into detailed submissions to Monaghan County Council, which is currently assessing the planning application. Sinn Féin members and elected representatives have been to the forefront of the opposition of the proposed incinerator.

North Monaghan representatives Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, Cllr Brenda McAnespie and Cllr Brian McKenna have been supporting the residents in all their actions and providing whatever assistance is requested.

Under EU regulations, Monaghan County Council was obliged to inform the Planning Service in the Six Counties, due to the close proximity of the proposed development to the border, which in turn informed local authorities in that statelet. Cllr Brian McKenna has been leading the project of informing neighbouring councils of the fears of his Monaghan constituents. He has been satisfied with the level of support he has received. He told An Phoblacht:

"It is an indication of the benefits of being part of an all-Ireland party that I was in a position to approach my fellow Sinn Féin councillors in Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Armagh. I am happy to report that councils in Armagh and Dungannon have lodged objections to the proposed incinerator. This was as a result of the efforts of Sinn Féin councillors and I want to pay tribute to all the members of these councils for their support. I also want to commend the Sinn Féin Assembly members who supported our task and Michelle Gildernew MP, who has been very pro-active on this issue."

According to Cllr McKenna, a decision on the planning application may not be expected until next year and it is likely that any decision will be appealed to An Bórd Pleanála.

Cllr McKenna concluded: "Incinerators are not the solution to our waste crisis, either locally or nationally. We in Sinn Féin will oppose any attempts to have them forced on local communities. It is time for the Dublin government to abandon its efforts to introduce incinerators across the state and to initiate a real, practical and safe waste management programme based on the concept of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle."