Fianna Fáil Senator Darragh O’Brien has called on James Reilly to deliver on his promise to ensure the Reclaim Fingal Alliance could meet Environment Minister Phil Hogan on proposals to locate a monster sewerage plant in North Dublin.

Senator O'Brien said: "Minister Reilly has failed to deliver on this simple promise to deliver a face-to-face meeting with Minister Hogan on this extremely important issue for the communities in North Dublin. This is totally unacceptable. Residents met the two previous Ministers for Environment and the progression of this proposal was stopped under Fianna Fáil."

"Not alone has it recommenced since the Fine Gael/Labour Government came into office there is total confusion over it. Minister Reilly says he is against a plan to build a plant in North Dublin to process 1,000 litres of sewerage per second and serve, Dublin City, South Dublin, Dun Laoghaire / Rathdown, Meath, Kildare and North Wicklow. However the Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin gave me a commitment in the Seanad before Christmas to review this plan on the basis of cost."

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Mr O'Brien will be raising the issue in the Seanad again and is calling on the Government to outline the details of the review.

He said: "This plant is dangerous to the environment, will have a devastating impact on the community and will cost in the order of €2bn. It makes no sense and should be scrapped.

"I have been working with my party colleague Councillor Eoghan O'Brien who has been raising this issue regularly with Fingal County Council. It is Fingal County Council and the Department of the Environment that want to impose this plant on the people of Dublin North. I am confident that the community led campaign that I and others are supporting will succeed and I am calling on the Government to immediately progress the review of the project signalled by Minister Howlin to realise that this project does not make sense and make the only logical decision available – that this proposal is dropped."

(CD/GK)