More than 2,000 submissions on waste facility licence

Thousands of objections have been lodged with Galway County Council against a proposed licence for a waste facility in Ballinasloe.

A meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council heard that 2,075 hard copy submissions had been lodged with the County Council by the deadline earlier this month.

Last year local residents won a High Court challenge against the granting of a licence for a waste facility at Poolboy in the town.

The court ruled that Galway County Council had erred by granting the licence for a waste facility to Barna Waste, contrary to requirements for protecting natural habitats.

At a meeting of Ballinasloe Municipal Council, Fianna Fail Councillor Michael Connolly described the town as being ‘dogged’ down through the years with dumps and said the transit of waste through Ballinasloe town again would be ‘detrimental’.

Independent Councillor Aisling Dolan said she is happy that five out of the six local area councillors are supporting the ‘Ballinasloe Says No’ campaign.

She told the meeting that one in every three people living in the urban area of Ballinasloe has lodged a formal submission to the Environment department of the county council against the proposal for a waste licence.

The opposition to the waste facility centres on concerns regarding potential health implications and road safety.

Local residents claim that waste trucks will have to navigate through the town, passing Portiuncula Hospital, schools, children’s playgrounds and homes and could increase the risk of serious accidents or fatalities.

Residents also feel that there could be health implications as a result of a potential decrease in air quality.

Among the concerns of local residents is the potential impact on tourism in the East Galway town which is part of the Hidden Heartlands initiative.

They claim that a waste facility at Poolboy would deter investment for Ballinasloe and people would be less likely to want to live and work in the area.

There was some confusion at the Ballinasloe meeting regarding how many tonnes of waste per year would be permitted at the facility, if the licence is granted.

Independent Councillor Declan Geraghty said there is a perception that hundreds of waste lorries will pass through Ballinasloe each week if the facility is granted a licence.

However he added that his calculations suggest no more than three articulated loads of waste would traverse the town if the facility is to only cater for 23,000 tonnes of waste per year.

Independent Councillor Tim Broderick said the licence would allow 23,000 tonnes of waste at the Poolboy facility at any given time.

Councillor Geraghty says he is not against the waste facility but is also supportive of the local residents and would like clarity on the figures as it would be ‘unfair to hauliers and people who are trying to create jobs’.

The location of the proposed site at Poolboy has been described as ‘wrong’ by Sinn Fein Councillor Dermot Connolly, who is arguing that an alternative site, away from the populated area, should be explored and then maybe supported. Galway County Council is due to make a decision regarding the proposal for a waste licence in Poolboy by the end of November.