We’ll stop at nothing

RESIDENTS in
north county Dublin have warned that they will stop at nothing to ensure that
plans for a monster sewage plant are scrapped.

Last week more than 1,000 protesters gathered outside
Fingal County Council’s headquarters in Swords to vent their anger and show
their continued opposition to the controversial proposal.

Waving placards, furious locals made their voices
heard outside the last full council meeting of the year on December 12.

Lorcan O’Toole of Lusk Waste Watch, a lobby group that
was involved in the protest, said the plan for the sewage plant was the last
straw for residents.

“The people of Lusk have had more than their fair
share of putting up with other people’s rubbish, having been lumped with the
Balleally landfill for decades,

? Mr O’Toole told Northside People.

“We are not about to accept the processing of sewage
coming from the city centre and parts of Wicklow, Meath and Kildare.

“The bottom line is that this project is a nonsense,
especially in these days when the Government is cutting back on frontline
staff, special needs teachers and so on.

“The sewage plant plan is quite simply a Celtic Tiger
vanity project.

?

Mr O’Toole vowed that Lusk Waste Watch would intensify
their campaign in the new year with a number of events planned.

“We will stop at nothing,

? he declared.

“Until Fingal County Council gets the sense to scrap
the project we will do whatever it takes to highlight our position and
opposition.

“The topic really has people fired up and I think that
was evident in the massive number of people who attended the demonstration.

?

Mr O’Toole added:

“We don’t want this sewage plant on
our doorstep and this is definitely a story that is not going away.

?

Lusk Waste Watch was formed in October in response to
the level of outrage among members of the community over the proposal.

Since then, other communities in the Fingal area have
formed their own protest groups, with an umbrella group, the Reclaim Fingal
Alliance, representing various communities. There is also huge opposition to
the plan in Rush and Skerries.

The project sparked waves of anger when Fingal County
Council published a report identifying nine potential land parcels for the
plant, one of which is in Lusk.

Last week, Peter O’Reilly of the Greater Dublin
Drainage Project Team, which is involved in the project, revealed that 10,000
submissions had been received in the second round of public consultations.

“The high level of engagement from local people and
stakeholders this early in the project’s development is an endorsement of the
early and detailed public consultation we have undertaken since the start of
this project,

? Mr O’Reilly told Northside People.

“All the issues contained in the submissions we have
received will be examined by experts and considered by the project team before
a shortlist of potential sites is identified next year.

“Among the issues raised are: risk of odours; risks to
agri and horticulture, fishing and shellfish; ecology concerns; impact on local
communities, traffic and access; over-burdening of communities; ecology;
pollution; heritage; distance from load centres; and cost.

?

In its report published in October, Fingal County
Council said the new infrastructure was needed to provide sustainable and
reliable drainage and wastewater treatment for the Greater Dublin Area to meet
current and future economic, industrial and residential demands.

Dublin North TD Alan Farrell (FG) said the issue has
become a matter of grave concern to residents in north county Dublin.

“I do not believe that this waste water facility is
the solution to treat Dublin’s sewage waste,

? he stated.

“I am acutely aware of the desire by many smaller
communities in north county Dublin to treat their own waste within their own
communities.

?