Opposition Mounts Against Incinerator Writes Howard Crowdy & Jack White An orderly queue was formed as local residents signed appeal forms to object to the planning of the proposed Indaver incinerator at the second Ringaskiddy and District Residents Association meeting in as many weeks, which was held in front of a packed Ringaskiddy Community Hall last Monday evening. Objections to the plan have to be lodged by March 9th, with an oral hearing expected to take place within the next few months as the residents of Ringaskiddy and the Lower Harbour now having to attend their third such hearing on the matter in 15 years. However, it’s not just the residents of Ringaskiddy that will be affected by the incinerator, but those within a 50km radius, covering such satellite towns as Carrigaline, Passage West, Cobh, Bandon, Kinsale, Crosshaven, Ballincollig, Midleton, Mallow as well as Cork City itself, so it will affect over 200,000 people in the long run. Minister Simon Coveney TD spoke at the meeting and pledged his support for the group and will personally object to the planning, adding that the Government had pledged upwards of €500 million in to Cork Harbour over the next five years to make it a place to live, work and learn and be a centre for tourism and education and said he would certainly be against the proposal of an incinerator in the middle of it all. Speaking with The Carrigdhoun last week, a spokesperson for Minister Coveney said, “Simon is totally opposed to the proposal of building a waste Incinerator in Ringsakiddy. Simon has been working on getting a number of significant projects off the ground in Cork Harbour, including Haulbowline Island getting €61m invested in to the clean up of the site, the new Beaufort building, the developments at the IMERC campus along, with Camden Fort and Spike Island ”. Various points were made at the meeting by residents, councillors, Michael McGrath TD and members of CHASE all pledging to fight Indavar yet again to prevent them even setting foot in the Lower Harbour area. Expanding on his comments at the meeting, Michael McGrath TD said to the Carrigdhoun last week, “I remain completely opposed to the development of a commercial incinerator in Ringaskiddy and I will help the residents in every way possible to fight this proposal. The intervention by the Minister for the Environment in 2014 when Cork County Council was preparing its County Development Plan has left the door open for this application. The local Councillors wished to exclude the possibility of contract incineration but were blocked by the Minister on behalf of the government. I will be personally objecting to the planning application. I also think the law needs to be changed so that repeated applications for essentially the same project cannot keep coming in. It is totally unfair on local residents – having beaten Indaver already – to have to take on this fight again against a company with vast resources.” Jerry Buttimer TD said; “In Government we have invested in cleaning up Cork Harbour, we’re cleaning up Haulbowline and building a wastewater treatment plan to stop raw sewage entering our Harbour. Our actions show we want a clean and safe Cork Harbour. We won’t do anything to put that at risk. The planning process is independent of politics but I will do everything I can to support and help the residents in their continued efforts to fight Indaver’s application. Personally I will also be submitting an objection and I will voice my concerns at the oral hearing.? More details on the proposed incinerator at www.ringaskiddyrrc.ie while objections can be made to the site on www.chasecorkharbour.com. Before March 9th