GALWAY for a SAFE ENVIRONMENT
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Tuesday, April 4th , 2000
Galway for a Safe Environment (GSE) Residents for a Responsible Waste Management Policy GSE Announces Debate on Draft Waste Management Plan Sunday, May 14th - Corrib Great Southern Major Petition Against Incinerator this Weekend in Galway Galway for a Safe Environment is announcing that they are holding a debate on the Connacht Draft Waste Management Plan, on Sunday May 14th next, and are inviting representatives of MC O'Sullivan, who drafted the plan, to participate in the debate. The debate will be held in the Corrib Great Southern in Galway, and GSE have been able to secure the involvement of two international experts who are opposed to incineration- Dr. Vivian Howard, of the University of Liverpool, and Prof. Paul Connett, of the University of Canton, New York. Galway Corporation earlier this year defeated a motion to invite Dr. Howard to speak in the city. Prof. Connett will be on a return visit to Galway, having spoken to a large crowd in the city last month. According to GSE spokesman, Dr. Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, it has taken three weeks to secure the involvement of Dr. Howard and Prof. Connett. "Some media reports last week suggested that we were unwilling to debate the consultants on this plan. We were unable to get our experts at the two week's notice we were given, as they, like our group, are giving their time voluntarily. We said that we felt the people of Galway needed to have the best experts on both sides debate the issue openly. We are now giving MC O'Sullivan 6 weeks notice of this debate, and we hope that they, and their own experts will accept our invitation to attend. "We have asked an independent Chairperson to chair the debate, and would be proposing a format where each side would be given equal time to debate the pros and cons of the issue. We will also be inviting the anti-landfill groups in East Galway to participate in the debate, as there can be no incinerator without ash super-dumps." "We are holding the seminar on a Sunday, so that the public will be able to attend in large numbers, and we will be providing family activities and a creche to further enable the largest attendance possible", said Dr. Ó Brádaigh. GSE have also announced that they will be starting a major petition drive aginst the Draft Waste management plan this weekend, at shopping centres around the city. "We will have over 100 volunteers manning tables at most of the shopping centres, and we are asking the people of Galway to take this opportunity to let their elected representatives know that they are opposed to the incinerator and ash super-dump proposed in this plan. Elected representatives from all the local political parties helped GSE launch the petition this week (see photo). In attendance were Michael D. Higgins T.D. (Lab), Sen. Jarlath McDonogh (FG), and Councillors Noel Grealish (PD), Tim Rabbitt (FF) and Catherine Connolly (Lab). The petition reads: We, the undersigned, demand that our elected representatives reject the Connacht Draft Waste Management Plan because it includes incineration as a method of waste management. We believe that the proposed incinerator, and its associated ash superdumps, represent unacceptable health risks to the people of Galway City and County and are a threat to the environment and economy of the West of Ireland. We believe that Reduction, Re-use and an intensive Recycling campaign can meet the desired amounts of diversion of waste from landfill. Please accept this as our submission to the Draft Waste Management Plan. Confirmation: Conchúr Ó Brádaigh, 087-2830452 Áine Suttle, 091-581047 <!-- HTML Markup endspan --> </td> </tr> </table> <a name=bottom></a> </body> </html>