Smell
I raised the issue of the smell from the Ringsend sewage treatment plant – which was bad in the third week of March - at a meeting with the City Manager on Friday last. Matt Twomey, the Assistant City Manager, insisted that the smell problem had been dealt with and that the tenders for the proposed extension were now being finalised. I know from my conversations with the engineers there that this is largely a capacity problem. The plant was actually running at full capacity when it was commissioned. Dick Roche has refused repeatedly to conduct an investigation into how such a fundamental error could occur. This is the same man who wanted an investigation into the Galway drinking water problem – although he seems to have gone quiet on the investigation idea over the weekend. An investigation would reveal a lot about the workings of his department and their role in the drinking water problem not just in Galway but elsewhere. Bad planning is the root cause of these problems, and our Minister for the Environment has allowed this laissez faire planning to continue in the country.
The real solution to the odour problem in Ringsend is to extend the existing plant and to build a series of smaller plants elsewhere in the city. As we have seen first-hand here, the mega engineering solution does not work. In fairness, I recall my former colleague, Cllr Claire Wheeler, making this point at the time.
I also raised the issue of the inadequate protection for the new playgrounds in Ringsend Park. The Manager promised that he would look into this.