Government statement

Government policy on waste management and incineration is enunciated in the 2007 Programme for Government and the 2009 Renewed Programme for Government. Minister Gormley has responsibility for driving the development of these commitments through various policy initiatives including legislation.

The Programme for Government provides for a resource management approach to waste and this will have inevitable consequences for the scale and location of residual waste infrastructure.

The Government has already decided to impose a levy on incineration. The legislation to allow for this is being drafted and will be before the Houses of the Oireachtas in the early part of this year.

The Minister is also carrying out a Strategic Environmental Assessment on a proposed cap on incineration capacity and other related matters, as provided for in the Programme for Government.

An overall review of Government policy on waste management has been underway since 2008 and is now bearing fruit, with the consultants' report published by the Minister in November 2009 which makes a number of very important recommendations.

The Government is committed to a resource management approach to waste. Minister Gormley has the full confidence of the Government to develop proposals in that context.