The recent Oral hearing by An Bord Pleanala over three days in Wynns Hotel will hopefully be the end of the proposed incinerator. Their judgment is expected by early December. If An Bord Pleanala decides in favor of the building of the incinerator, the hardworking Dublin Bay Action for Health Group will immediately appeal the decision to the Environmental Protection Agency. Spokesperson for the Dublin Bay Action Group, Clare Watson, says, "The fight will go on until we win, we will go all the way, even though funds are very tight". A further difficulty at the hearing stage was that the environmental impact elements were not taken into consideration.

Despite the fact that since the EPA was set up as a separate environmental licensing agency matters relating to environmental pollution and health effects cannot be considered by local authorities or An Bord Pleanala (a very unsatisfactory situation), we feel that the arguments at the Oral Hearing were very strong, and we hope that they will help the Planning Inspector to uphold the decision by Dublin Corporation not to grant planning permission to the Company Waste to Energy. A special vote of thanks must go to Deputy Michael McDowell, SC who fronted the legal team free of charge, and Minister Ruairi Quinn, who attended in his capacity as local representative and architect, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, Deputy Eoin Ryan, Cllr. Dermot Lacey, Cllr. Joe Doyle and Cllr. John Gormley who all made statements in support of the case.

Dublin Bay Action Groups main argument was that that the granting of planning permission for this incinerator would pre-empt the orderly and planned management of the disposal of medical waste in accordance with stated Department of Health policy which favors non-incineration technologies, such as microwaving and autoclaving. In a recent letter to Dublin Bay Action Group from Health Minister Michael Noonan confirmed that "work is continuing in the Department on the preparation of contract documentation in order to seek tenders through the EU tendering process, for the provision of this non-incineration disposal service." An incinerator of the size proposed would no doubt have to make long-term contracts with hospitals, thereby ensuring that their waste would not be disposed of in the more environmentally friendly manner proposed by Government. That would be an unusual situation to say the least.

Dublin Bay Action Group would like to thank all the people who helped along the way, by giving donations, attending fund raising events, and most of all to those who became involved in the Outreach Groups, and who did all the legwork. They look forward to hearing the decision by An Bord Pleanala which will be announced before 1st December. If it is not to their liking, the fight will go on. Thanks to Jim Berkely for the photograph.