The Green Party has called on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to withdraw its proposed decision to grant a waste licence for a massive incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin.

Speaking at the EPA oral hearing in Dublin yesterday, Green Party TD for Dun Laoghaire, Ciaran Cuffe said the granting of the licence would significantly undermine the waste hierarchy as set out by the EU.

Deputy Cuffe said: "Incineration is the least favoured option in the waste hierarchy set out by the EU. Environment Minister John Gormley has already put it on record that there simply would not be enough waste for the Poolbeg Incinerator even if it were to proceed. Not only is there not enough waste from Dublin to feed it, but there wouldn't be enough waste from the entire country for this facility, which is nothing more than a white elephant.

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"The licence must be viewed within the context of the government waste review which is currently ongoing. Any decision made by the EPA in light of this must be considered premature," he said.

The plant, as previously approved by the planning board, would be located on a 12-hectare site in Poolbeg, west of the regional sewage plant. The main incinerator building will be 200m long, 130m wide and 52m high and will be adjoined by two 100m chimney stacks.

If the EPA awards the licence, Dublin City Council plans to start construction in late 2008 or early 2009, which is expected to take three years to complete.

(VB/JM)