John Gormley

Statement by Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD:

“It now appears that Tánaiste Michael McDowell has pulled back from his headline grabbing statement in relation to the Poolbeg incinerator. Yesterday Mr. McDowell was quite emphatic when he said that the PDs would not agree in Government to finance the Poolbeg incinerator, effectively making this a pre-condition for Government.

“Today at a press conference he stated that the incinerator would have to be consistent with Government policy. As usual, this clarification will not get the same publicity as his previous statement. The fact is that Dick Roche has agreed that the Poolbeg plant is consistent with Government policy and Michael McDowell has had ample opportunity to stop this incinerator while sitting at the cabinet table.

“The Green Party put down a private members’ bill on the issue and the PDs voted it down. Michael McDowell at the last election implied that stopping the incinerator was a condition for Government. He’s trying to perform the same trick again. On this occasion, the voters in Dublin South East have wised up to his posturing.”

Green Party Chairman and Dublin South East TD John Gormley has accused Michael McDowell of opportunism on the issue of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg.

Deputy Gormley said: “This latest election promise is a pathetic last gasp effort to regain credibility on the issue. People should see through this election gimmick. Stopping the incinerator was a central plank of Michael McDowell’s election campaign in 2002. He told voters that he would be best placed of all the candidates to stop the project as he would be sitting at the cabinet table and could change government policy. Once elected however, Minister McDowell forgot about that promise

“The record shows that the government voted down a Green Party motion to stop the incinerator. We have been very clear that in government this incinerator will not go ahead.

“I believe that the planning case against this incinerator is unanswerable. The site selection process was flawed, the traffic impact would be disastrous and, most importantly, there is no need for this massive facility. However, in the past we have seen cases where the An Bord Pleanála’s inspector recommended against the project on planning grounds, only to have this decision overturned by the Bord on the basis of ‘government policy’. This is what happened with the incinerator at Ringaskiddy, and more recently with the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium.

“A recent independent report on waste management in Ireland found that our reliance on incineration is in fact a major impediment to meeting our targets under the EU Landfill Directive. This report, by leading European environmental consultants Eunomia, found that alternatives to incineration could be put in place more quickly and at less cost. We urgently need a change in Government policy, otherwise we will be lumbered with a collection of massive incinerators, which, in the words of Dr Dominic Hogg, the author of the Eunomia report, will ‘crowd out recycling options’.

Dublin City Council has released this computer-generated view of the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg as part of their planning application to An Bord Pleanála:

Green Party Chairman and TD for Dublin South East John Gormley has welcomed the announcement that an oral hearing into the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg will go ahead, but has cautioned that a hearing so close to a General Election could turn into a political circus.

Deputy Gormley said: “I’m delighted that we’re finally going to have an oral hearing on the planned incinerator as it will give the local community the chance to put forward the compelling case against the proposal. However, I am concerned about the timing, as the General Election is likely to be held within weeks of the hearing.

“The proximity of the election will encourage all of the candidates in Dublin South East to try and outdo each other in making grandiose statements of opposition to the incinerator, rather than focussing on the planning and environmental case against the proposal. In particular, we can expect the candidates from Fianna Fáil and the PDs to assert their total opposition to an incinerator at Poolbeg, while simultaneously campaigning for the re-election of the Government which is responsible for the proposal in the first place.

“These candidates have done absolutely nothing to reverse the Government policy which has landed the people of Dublin South East with the proposed incinerator, but they will take the opportunity afforded by the oral hearing to paint themselves as the project’s greatest opponents.

“I hope to be proved wrong, but I’m concerned that the very important issues raised in the submissions made to An Bord Pleanála may be overshadowed by electioneering. I trust that the Board’s inspector will not allow him or herself to be sidetracked, but the intense atmosphere of a General Election campaign may not be the best context for a hearing of this importance,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

Green Party Chairman launches campaign in Dublin South East

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD today launched his general election campaign in Dublin South East with a plea to party activists and voters to ensure that Fianna Fáil and the PDs are ousted from government.

“I know from speaking to delegates at our Convention last weekend that they want Fianna Fáil and the PDs out of government,” said Deputy Gormley. “There is an unquenchable thirst for change in the party.

“Bertie Ahern can’t quite decide whether he’s St Paul or St Augustine. Last year we had his Pauline conversion to socialism, but when it comes to the environment it’s a case of ‘make me green, but not yet Lord’.

“All his plans for the future are in the future. Yes, he’s going to tax SUVs – but after the election. He’s going to introduce smart metering – after the election. At least Bertie now knows what smart metering is. He has the lingo now. He can just about talk the talk. But where’s the action?

“At the last election Fianna Fáil said they had a lot done, but more to do. In relation to the environment they have nothing done and a hell of a lot to do. Look at Dick Roche’s attitude to the higher insulation standards agreed by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council. Look at the poor recycling facilities in Dublin South East. Then there’s the problem of the sewage treatment plant, the litter in the canal and the proposed incinerator, which Minister McDowell falsely claimed had collapsed. Look at the failure to deal with graffiti and the poor bus services.”

Below are edited extracts from the debate on the proposed Poolbeg incinerator in the Dáil on Thursday February 22nd. The full debate is available on the Oireachtas web site.

Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the Government’s position on incineration and, in particular, the proposed incinerator for the Poolbeg peninsula; the status of the procurement process; if, in his view, Dublin City Council can proceed with the incinerator, which up until now has been supported by the Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. (more…)

– Not the first time electioneering PDs have predicted incinerator’s demise

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD has called on the Tánaiste Michael McDowell to clarify the source of his claim that the plans for an incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin have been abandoned. The Tánaiste’s comments in today’s Evening Herald have caused considerable confusion as Dublin City Council maintains that the project remains on track.

Deputy Gormley said: “Michael McDowell owes it to the local community to clarify where he is getting the information that allows him to confidently announce the collapse of this project, even though as far as Dublin City Council is concerned it’s all systems go,” said Deputy Gormley.

“It’s worth remembering that this is not the first time that the PDs have predicted the demise of the incinerator. In May 2005 Cllr Wendy Hederman released a statement entitled ‘City Council Blocks Incinerator’, and in July 2005 Michael McDowell told the Southside People newspaper that the incinerator would not go ahead ‘as planned.’

“It is irresponsible of Michael McDowell to give local people false hope. He needs to be challenged immediately by the media to back up his statements. His latest statement is a panic reaction to voter hostility on this issue in the forthcoming election.”

– McDowell’s ‘victory for local democracy’ statement is utterly hypocritical

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD welcomed the collapse of the Government’s plans today to build a massive incinerator in Poolbeg in Dublin. The TD for Dublin South East, who has opposed the incinerator since the outset, said the Government parties had tried to force through the project against the wishes of the local community.

“This is great news for local residents who have campaigned vigorously, alongside the Green Party, on this issue. On two occasions the Green Party has used its private members time in Dáil Éireann to force a vote on the hugely unwelcome incinerator. On both occasions the PDs and Fianna Fail voted down our motions, which would have prevented this project from going ahead.

“We hope now that the proposal is dead in the water, and that it will not be resurrected after the election. Opinion polls in the area have indicated very clearly that the Government parties are suffering as a result of their support for the proposed incinerator.

“One has to ask the question, as to how this information was leaked to Michael McDowell, the Tánaiste. It was, after all, McDowell who stated that the current proposal would not be taken under fast-track legislation but rather under the existing legislation. Enquires from this office showed that no official representation had been made on this matter, but was rather pursued on a nod and a wink basis.

“Our genuine fear is that this politically sensitive issue will be shelved very conveniently until after the election and then fast-tracked. The Green Party will continue to be vigilant on this issue,” concluded Deputy Gormley.

“From information just received, it would now appear that neither Bord Pleanála nor Dublin City Council were in the loop in relation to this decision. The fact that Minister McDowell has made this announcement would suggest that this is a Government decision which, under the circumstances, must be viewed with a degree of scepticism.

“Michael McDowell’s statement that this is a victory for local democracy is utterly hypocritical, given that this Government removed from councillors the power to make a waste management plan for Dublin city. Again we repeat our concern that this is motivated by political considerations and poor opinion poll ratings in Dublin South East for Government parties and in particular the Tánaiste, and that a U-Turn on the issue is possible after the election, if the PDs and Fianna Fail get back in.

– McDowell’s party has more failures than successes to reflect on

The Green Party today ridiculed the Progressive Democrats’ claim that it has delivered on its election promises and highlighted some of PDs’ more serious failures in its ten years in Government.

Speaking on the eve of the PDs’ national conference, Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD said: “Not only have the PDs failed to deliver on their promises, they have managed to deliver on things which they did not promise, such as the privatisation of the health service. They have absolutely no mandate for this ill-conceived proposal.

“The major plank of the Progressive Democrats’ campaign at the first election was that a single party government was undesirable and they would keep an eye on Fianna Fáil. The PDs have not only kept an eye on them – they are now indistinguishable from the bigger party. Who would have thought that Michael McDowell would seek the end of tribunals investigating corruption? The last five years have been particularly damaging for the PDs and it is unlikely that they can recover at this stage.”

The Green Party has identified the following promises made by the PDs, which have not been delivered on: (more…)

– Gormley disappointed by FG/Labour’s NIMBY attitude

Green Party Chairman John Gormley TD today welcomed the decision of Fingal County Council to support the campaign against the proposed incinerator at Poolbeg in Dublin. Deputy Gormley however expressed dismay that the motion was not backed by Fine Gael and Labour Councillors. Cllr Joe Corr, the Green Party Cathaoirleach of Fingal Council, was forced to use his casting vote to ensure that the motion was passed at last night’s monthly meeting of the Council.

“This vote demonstrates that only the Green Party is fully united against the proposed incinerator,” said Deputy Gormley. “Fine Gael and Labour on Fingal County Council appear to have fallen for the Government’s ‘divide and conquer’ strategy. They seem to believe that it’s acceptable to put an incinerator in the heart of Dublin Bay as long as it’s not in their own back yard. This NIMBY attitude puts them in the same bracket as the FF/PD representatives in Dublin South East, who make a lot of noise about opposing the incinerator locally, while doing nothing to change Government policy, which backs the incinerator.

“The incinerator is a problem for the entire Dublin region, and the Green Party is fully united on this issue. We have a consistent policy which focuses on the alternatives to incineration, and we will oppose any municipal incinerator whether it be in Dublin City, Fingal, or anywhere else in the region. We need to build a Dublin-wide campaign against the incinerator, and the Labour and Fine Gael representatives in Dublin South East need to convince their colleagues elsewhere in Dublin to get on board,” concluded Deputy Gormley.