Bord Pleanala confirmed yesterday that there will be no decision on the Ringaskiddy Incinerator before Christmas. Peanala.ie, which lists the current due date for a decision as 19 December will be updated when a new decision date is available.
The application was lodged in January 2016 with a decision due originally by July 2016 to meet Strategic Infrastructure Development statutory time objective of achieving a decision within 18 weeks from the last day for receipt of public submissions. (http://www.pleanala.ie/sid/flowchart.pdf)
Bord Pleanala confirmed to CHASE that Indaver’s most recent response is with the Oral Hearing Inspector who must include it as an addendum to his report. Indaver’s response relates to Department of Defence and other observers comments on Indavers further information regarding flight paths close to the stack and incorrect dioxin figures exposed at the final day of the 2016 Oral Hearing.
CHASE Spokesperson Mary O’Leary said “The obvious upside is that while the decision is still hanging over the community, at least we can enjoy a normal Christmas. We hope that the ongoing delays reflect due diligence by Bord Pleanala rather than keeping the goal open until the applicant can get a shot in.
It is essential that Bord Pleanala engages it’s own qualified independent experts to assess Indaver’s latest information and does not take it at face value. The robust examination of Indavers application and further information via Oral Hearings and submissions by this community will have highlighted that need by exposing both careless errors and errors with a degree of gravity that led the Hearing Inspector Derek Daly to say threatened the veracity of the documentation.” (http://chasecorkharbour.com/serious-dioxin-figure-irregularities-exposed-as-hearing-comes-to-close/)
CHASE has consistently highlighted the lop-sided process which facilitates a long pre-consultation process between the developer and the planning authority, a condensed assessment period by the community and a protracted period of re-negotation and correction of the application resulting in endless missed decision dates that the pre-consultation process was designed to mitigate against in the first place.
This pushes to 9 the number of dates which Bord Pleanala has listed and subsequently deferred. It is clear at this stage that the sole decision viable to meet the July 2016 deadline would have been a refusal of permission.